Ukrainians have begun production of small attack drones capable of long-range flights and carrying explosives.

The analysis of the British inspection emphasizes that the drone program of Ukraine is also supervised by a close associate of President Vladimir Zelensky, 32-year-old Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov. He also oversees the digital transformation of the Ukrainian army, which is now integrating a drone force into each of its brigades. This means the work of 60 teams operating offensive drones to be produced in the country, combining Ukrainian military technology with international companies and foundations.

As such, the Ukrainian military will have “significant high-tech capabilities” in the coming months, according to a defense tech expert who The Economist consulted on condition of anonymity, to counter the Iranian-made drones wielded by the Russian military. .

Only a few military systems can work well given the defense systems of the Russian forces. “The Russians are very, very good at what they do,” a drone industry source told the Economist. “They use… black magic for electromagnetic protection. They can jam frequencies, spoof GPS, send a drone to the wrong height so that it just crashes.”

The threat from ground-based air defenses means Ukrainian reconnaissance drones struggle to see more than 15 kilometers behind Russian positions, says an expert with recent experience in monitoring drone operations.

Elon Musk

Previously, Ukrainians seemed to be pinning their hopes on piloting drones behind Russian lines with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, which operate at frequencies and numbers that Russian systems can barely jam. A naval drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in October reportedly successfully exploited this loophole. But Mr. Musk, apparently worried about the escalating effect of such moves, acted as a deterrent. Starlink is now blocking the use of its terminals not only over Russian-held territory inside Ukraine, but also, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence source, over water and when the receiver is moving at over 100 km per hour. “You put it in a boat at sea and it just stops working,” he says.

Therefore, Ukrainian drone developers are now using a number of other, more expensive communication systems, often with multiple systems on the same vehicle. The success of the Feb. 28 attack in approaching Moscow suggests that Ukraine may be moving closer to a solution that will work in practice.

However, it is one thing if Ukraine can demonstrate that this is possible, and another if it can scale on a significant scale. Ukraine’s attack drone program is still far from reaching the production levels needed to compete with Russia’s long-range capabilities, says Seth Franzman, author of Drone Wars, which documents the use of UAVs on the battlefield.

There’s still a problem with finding materials, and Mr. Fedorov admits that few companies offer them internationally, and the Russians have already rushed there: “We really feel the presence of the other side here, too,” he says.

But international sanctions mean the Russians will be the first to run out of materials, while the Ukrainian drone industry is growing by leaps and bounds, giving Ukrainians hope for the outcome of the war.

Source: Economist.