The Impact of Drones on the Battlefield: Lessons of the Russia-Ukraine War from a French Perspective
View PDF The Russia-Ukraine War is not just a geopolitical earthquake—it is a tactical and technological inflection point. While many initially focused on tanks and artillery, the war’s defining feature has become the mass deployment of cheap, disposable, and networked technologies—especially drones, loitering munitions, and small-scale electromagnetic warfare systems.
On the Horizon: The Ukraine War and the Evolving Threat of Drone Terrorism - Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: This article analyzes the evolution of terrorist drone usage and forecasts its future trajectory in light of the tactical and technological innovations emerging from the Russo-Ukrainian War. The conflict has become a critical “innovation hub” for drone warfare, accelerating advancements in the scale, speed, and range of drone operations. These developments are not only … Continued
‘I’m fighting two wars. One against the Russians. And one inside myself.’
A drone pilot and her all-women unit are waging a new kind of warfare on Ukraine’s eastern front
Russia is arming attack drones with new electronic defenses to fight off Ukrainian interceptors
The modified Shaheds comes as Ukrainian interceptor drones are logging a growing number of drone kills.
Moving Targets: Implications of the Russo-Ukrainian War for Drone Terrorism - Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: Small and commercially available drones in the hands of violent extremists pose a rapidly growing terrorist threat. This article examines that threat in the light of the invasion of Ukraine. Consumer drones such as DJI Mavics, FPV racing drones, and Shahed-style one-way attack drones have become potent weapons. Their affordability, accessibility, and adaptability enable … Continued
Design, Destroy, Dominate. The Mass Drone Warfare as a Potential Military Revolution
The widespread use of drones observed in Ukraine—both in terms of the scale of the fleets deployed and their omnipresence in the operations of both belligerents—appears to meet the conditions of a genuine military revolution.
In Ukraine, a New Arsenal of Killer A.I. Drones Is Being Born
As the war grinds on, sophisticated Russian defenses have pushed Ukraine to develop a frightening new weapon: semiautonomous killing machines.
Drone Warfare in Ukraine: The Interplay of High- and Low-Tech Solutions
Autonomous Tech & Fiber-Optic Vehicles
Russia’s FPV drone campaign in Ukraine institutionalizes intentional civilian harm as a tool of war
Russia's use of FPV drones to strike civilian targets in Ukraine indicates a culture seeking to weaponize civilian harm as a tool of war.
Western drones are underwhelming on the Ukrainian battlefield
Most are too expensive, and irrelevant to the kind of war Russia is waging
Listen, Run, Hide
Since the summer of 2024, Russian forces have increasingly armed quadcopter drones and used them to chase, injure, and kill residents living in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
How drone combat in Ukraine is changing warfare
In Ukraine, drones have changed warfare, surveilling frontlines, guiding artillery and destroying enemy targets. These can be close by or hundreds of kilometres away, deep in Russian and Ukrainian territory.
How Cartels are Adopting Drone Tactics from Ukraine
This article explores how FPV drone tactics, foreign volunteer forces, and transnational criminal networks reshape global security.
Drug cartel operatives snuck into Ukraine for drone training: report
The revelations highlight Ukraine’s unintended emergence as a training ground for modern asymmetric warfare techniques amid the conflict with Russia.
Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense
Since Russia’s invasion, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has become an influential, if sometimes controversial, force—sharing expert advice and intel on the ever-evolving technology that’s taken over the skies. His work may determine the future of Ukraine, and wars far beyond it.
The following analysis was originally published on Two Marines, a newsletter on Russia's war in Ukraine, defense technology, and modern warfare, on April 3,