See the Battlefield Innovations Reshaping the Russia-Ukraine War

See the Battlefield Innovations Reshaping the Russia-Ukraine War

Technology helps Ukraine achieve an edge on the battlefield

By 

Juanje Gómez

 and 

Anastasiia Malenko

The Wall Street Journal., 

Aug 13


KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine has gained an edge on the battlefield in the first half of this year. Improvements in midrange strikes helped its army take out Russian logistics and slow Russia’s battlefield gains.


Its long-range strikes have caused a fuel crisis in Russian-occupied Crimea and threatened refineries deep inside Russia, bringing the war closer to the Russian population.


Ukrainian former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has credited the successes to Ukraine’s rapid technological advances. 


“We know that in terms of the scale of our funding and our population, we cannot be larger than Russia, but thanks to our asymmetry and our constant search for new technological solutions, we will prevail,” Fedorov told a gathering of Ukrainian defense innovators in June. 


This summer, the technological race continues as the two sides vie for the upper hand on land, at sea and in the skies. Here are some of the technological innovations that are changing the battlefield. 


Termit 2.0
  • Range: 24 miles
  • Top speed: 9 mph
  • Max load: 877 lbs.
Camera
Supplies
Evacuating
wounded
Molniya-2 drone
  • Range: 43 miles
  • Top speed: 75 mph
FPV drone
FPV drone
Target on the ground
Explosive
Molniya-2 drone
travel path (43 miles)
FPV drone range
(4 miles)
Ukraine
Vyshneve
Pokrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk Region
Kharkiv Region
Donetsk Region
Altitude: 1.4 miles
Up to 136 miles
Relay Shahed drone
Shahed strike drone
Target
Antenna
Russian side
Ukrainian side
  • Range: 15 miles
Antenna
Camera
Explosive
FPV drone
Video feed from FPV drone
Hornet drone
Video feed from Hornet drone
  • Range: 62 miles
  • Cruising speed: 78 mph
Warhead up to 11 lbs.
Sting interceptor
max. speed 175 mph
Shahed-136
max. speed 115 mph
Sting interceptor
  • Flight range: 23 miles
  • Top speed: 175 mph
Pilot can be as far as 1,200 miles away

Land drones

Ukrainian forces use land drones to perform some of the most dangerous tasks on the battlefield. In June, they performed over 16,000 such missions—nearly doubling the amount of missions in March.

Remote-piloted drones help to deliver supplies and evacuate the wounded, rescuing servicemen, Ukraine’s most valuable resource, but they remain labor intensive. One Ukrainian unit says evacuations with ground drones can take anywhere from six hours to three days and involve 14 people in planning and execution.

Ukraine has also deployed land drones in offensive roles to support its counter-attacks.

Mothership drones

Ukraine and Russia have both been deploying mothership drones carrying smaller first-person-view drones to expand their range. Fixed-wing Russian drones, such as Molniyas, can ferry smaller FPV drones farther and enable them to attack targets inaccessible to them before.

While the technology isn't widely used yet, Ukrainian experts say they expect it to spread as both sides try to combine various types of drone for maximum range and effectiveness.

Mesh networks

Mesh modems enable real-time piloting and reconnaissance for Russian Shahed-type drones over Ukrainian cities during attacks. The system relies on antennas providing radio connection to high-flying drones, which relay it to the strike drones engaging the target below.

Electronic-warfare resistant FPV drones

Ukraine is also working on scaling up the use of EW-resistant FPV drones to strike Russian logistics, Ukraine’s former Defense Ministry adviser Serhii Sternenko said. Fedorov said the innovation aims to help gain operational depth. Videos of battlefield deployments show such FPV drones striking Russian trucks on the move.

Automation

Starlink connectivity and last-mile navigation algorithms help Ukrainian pilots reach their targets despite Russian jamming. Along with real-time target recognition and other automation gains, this technology helps to increase pilots’ efficiency and reduce the number of people needed to strike the same number of targets.

Interceptor drones

Ukraine’s deployment of interceptor drones to hunt Russian Shahed-type drones has helped boost its interception rate to 87% in July, compared with 81% in December, according to an analysis of Ukrainian official data.

Russia is now betting on jet-powered drones to outrun Ukraine’s interceptors, setting off another innovation race.

             Sources: Brave1, Serhii Beskrestnov, Serhii Sternenko, Institute for The Study of War (maps), Ukraine's               First Corps, Azov, Mykhailo Fedorov, Wild Hornets, CSIS Missile Defence Project, and other reporting

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