Combat Drones in Ukraine

This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. Struggling to maintain a steady supply of arms for its war in Ukraine, Moscow is looking to Iran once again to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles. That's according to a National Security Council official and a United Nations diplomat.(Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate via AP, File)

Drones are playing an important role in the war in Ukraine. Without a large conventional air force, the Ukrainian military is employing a number of high- and low-end imported and domestically produced drones to devastating effect against Russian forces. This article examines how Ukrainian and Russian forces are employing these drones and their effects on the battlefield.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, labeled a “special operation” by Putin, began on February 24, 2022. The planned days-long invasion soon turned into a war of attrition that, by its eight month, had triggered Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. As of October 2022, more than 4.6 million Ukrainians remain outside their own country, with millions more internally displaced.3

The Russian military under Putin has employed similar tactics to those used in the Second Chechen War. Putin further perfected these tactics—“siege, destroy, and take over”—with a heavy reliance on airpower and private military contractors in the Syrian Civil War.4 Even though Western intelligence agencies estimated Russia would controlUkraine within four to five days, Russian forces, as of October 20, 2022, failed to control more than the areas directly bordering Russia, including the oblasts surrounding Luhansk, Donetsk, Mariupol, and Kherson. 5 Moreover, Russia failed to seize and hold Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, Putin’s main target.

Although this article is largely focused on offering readers an understanding of the drones impacting the battlefield in Ukraine, it is worth noting the role of drones is unsettled within the security studies literature. Some analysts argue drones are, in fact, a revolutionary technology.6 Others disagree and suggest they play a lesser role in reshaping conflict.7 The truth, however, is likely somewhere in between. The war in Ukraine is certain to provide greater clarity in understanding the role drones play in conflict in general. But this analysis does not take a position on this critical topic at this early stageof their use.

The article employs the Department of Defense definition of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS): “That system whose components include the necessary equipment, network, and personnel to control an unmanned aircraft.”8 The term drone is the common vernacular used to describe UAS.

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