Russia has made attack drones the main weapon in the war against Ukraine. If earlier these were isolated attacks, now they are massive "swarms" launched almost daily. This year, Moscow has already sent more than 34,000 drones and decoys to attack Ukraine – nine times more than last year. This is stated in a material by The New York Times, writes UNN.
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The Russian Federation has established large-scale production – from factories within the country to assistance from Iran and China. Up to 6,000 devices are produced monthly. New models better bypass jamming and work in groups: first decoys fly, and then attack drones follow them.
The war has reached another turning point in the use of drones, both on the front lines and in the offensive campaigns conducted by Russia and Ukraine.
Both military and civilians feel the consequences: hits occur on residential buildings, hospitals, and energy infrastructure. Attacks often occur at night to sow panic.
They (the Russians - ed.) started, perhaps, with hundreds (UAVs - ed.) per month, then from 2000 to 3000 per month in the first quarter of this year, and now from 5000 to 6000 per month
Ukraine responds with multi-layered defense: air defense systems cover large cities, mobile groups shoot down drones at the front, and electronic warfare jams signals. On average, about 88% of devices are destroyed, but even this is not always enough – the waves of attacks have become too powerful.
When Russia began to fly drones higher and higher, Ukraine responded by using cheap interceptor drones equipped with radar. But their use is still limited
Ukrainian developers are looking for cheaper solutions – interceptor drones and new jamming systems. But the main problem is scale: Russia can produce thousands of drones every month, and the war is turning into a competition of production and technology.
Kofman said that Ukraine's advantage "has diminished in recent months due to Russia's deployment of its own elite drone formations and better organization of their deployment."