What You Need to Know: In Ukraine, drones play a pivotal role, shaping battlefield tactics and providing essential support in reconnaissance, long-range strikes, and frontline medical aid.

-Russian forces have escalated the use of Iranian-supplied suicide drones, launching 2,000 attacks in October 2024 alone—a significant increase attributed to diversified suppliers and launch sites.

-These drones are especially effective against troop concentrations and armored vehicles. Despite heavy casualties among Russian drone operators, Russia’s reliance on one-way attack drones is expected to continue at high rates, with British Military Intelligence suggesting these figures may soon become the norm.

In many ways, the war in Ukraine is a war of drones. To be sure, it isn’t a sci-fi situation where drones are doing the fighting for humans—the death toll of over a million on both sides testifies to that. But rather, drones are shaping the fighting in a way that hasn’t been seen in the history of warfare.

Both sides are using unmanned aerial vehicles to attack, reconnoiter, deny territory, support long-range fires, and........

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