Ukraine expands drone program amid uncertainty over US support - NYT
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine is actively developing the Line of Drones program, focusing on its own production. This is becoming a "plan B" in case of cessation of aid from the United States or the failure of peace negotiations.
Ukraine is expanding its drone program amid uncertainty about US support. This is reported by The New York Times, writes UNN.
Details
According to the media, if peace negotiations fail or the US decides to stop supplying weapons, the Ukrainian drone initiative is likely to become more important than ever.
The program, called Line of Drones, relies on unmanned systems assembled in Ukraine, mainly small drones that explode and are launched from basement shelters.
The program is yet another reminder of Ukraine's ability to innovate during this war, which has helped it resist a much stronger enemy.
"This is no longer a man-to-man war," said the commander of a unit operating from a basement in eastern Ukraine.
According to reports, even before the Line of Drones program, Ukraine relied heavily on unmanned weapons, which now account for about 70% of all war losses on both sides. This is more than all other weapons combined, including tanks, howitzers, mortars and land mines. Although these weapons are partly supplied by the United States, Ukrainians assemble drones domestically from components mostly made in China.
The expanded program is reportedly Kyiv's "plan B" in case negotiations to end the war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 fail.
It is reported that in the drone war, Russia has an advantage in quantity, and Ukraine - in quality, and is often the first to introduce new technological approaches. This includes flying drone repeaters to increase the range of explosive drones and controlling drones with the thinnest fiber optic threads that are immune to interference.
The Line of Drones strategy has been overshadowed by ceasefire talks and Trump's dismissive assessment of Ukraine's chances without US aid. However, according to military analysts, the deployment of drones has already yielded results. This was partly the reason that slowed down the Russian offensive in Ukraine for three months.
The Ukrainian program will fill four drone battalions to become drone regiments, expanding each from about 700 soldiers to 2,500 soldiers armed with first-person view drones, others that drop bombs, and unmanned ground systems. The latter includes remotely controlled vehicles armed with machine guns.
It is reported that drones will not replace soldiers. Each drone flight may require up to four soldiers. But it is easier to recruit people for these positions than to find soldiers for the infantry to serve in the trenches.
Ukraine, which may lose fewer soldiers than Russia, wants to limit direct clashes. So this is where drones are needed.
"A fair assessment is that it works," said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the drone program.
According to him, the lack of Russian equipment and winter weather also played a role.
He added that the goal was to create a force that "could block a significant part of the front" and do without US aid. However, Ukraine still relies heavily on the United States and European countries for air defense systems to protect cities from missiles far from the front lines.
The goal of the program is to expand over time, with experienced drone pilots sharing their experience with soldiers from other units, trying to complicate Russian logistics, air defense and electronic warfare operations behind the front lines, Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles regiment, said in an interview. "The idea is to cover the entire front line" with drones, he said.
According to reports, the cost of one drone is between $500 and $750, which is cheaper than large-caliber artillery shells, which cost about $3,000.
We remind
Earlier, BILD reported that the US is offering Ukraine to agree to a peace plan and give up part of its territory. At the same time, Ukraine began to invest more in its own defense industry. The production of strike kamikaze drones increased from 600,000 units in 2023, and in 2024 this figure amounted to 1.5 million - by the end of 2025 this figure should reach three million.
