The drone war is in full swing in Ukraine. Last illustration to date: strikes are far from the Ukrainian borders that have affected Russian strategic planes in their air bases. Russia responded by a massive drone attack.
Drone -related technology developments are very fast, which requires permanent and reactive adaptation by manufacturers, but also operators.
“Drones are beaten very quickly by obsolescence, they are usually a few weeks for one of the belligerents to identify the parade of innovation,” said General Vincent Breton, director of the Joint Center for concepts, doctrines and experiments, during information about the press of the Ministry of Aries.
Innovations are analyzed on both sides and cause a technological “race and the development of more and more sophisticated countermeasures.
General Breton lists three types of drones used in the conflict: average altitude and medium or long resistance drones, “attack of a road”, similar to low-cost cruise missiles, as well as mini-drones and micro-drones, which also include suicide bomber drones, such as those used in the “Spider Web” operation.
Russian drones attacks tested Ukrainian air defense systems. But reciprocal is also true. According to the British reflection group of the British Royal United Services Institute, the attacks of Ukrainian drones represented 2025 at the beginning of 2025 between 60 and 70% of the damage to the Russian teams since the beginning of the war.
Very expensive missiles against drones
Last week, for example, kyiv launched drones from trucks to hit Russian bases located thousands of kilometers that damage dozens of Russian fleet aircraft, including nuclear bombers. These FPV drones that are so called are controlled with a virtual reality headset and cost less than 500 euros.
Attacking with drones is not new. Defending yourself is a more complete problem. The problem for states is that anti -aircraft defenses are generally very expensive. They can be missiles that sometimes cost up to 1 million euros each. This is the case, for example, of the 15 anti -oircraft models used by the French French Frigate of Missions (FREMM) Languedoc.
According to Bloomberg, Ukraine is currently working on the development and mass production of a new generation of drones aimed at demolishing the Russian geran, a licens production of the famous Iraní Shahed triangular model.
Russia uses these drones to make strikes that aim to saturate the Ukrainian aerial defense. Its cost is estimated between $ 20 and $ 50,000, according to CENTER for strategic and international studies (CSI), which specifies that Russia “tolerates” a high dropout rate, often about 75% of destroyed drones.
People interviewed by Bloomberg indicate that developing interceptors could cost $ 300. The press agency also cites the advisor of the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, which estimates the “Shahed hunters” produced by three local manufacturers with $ 5,000.
A Latvian industrialist, Origin Robotics, would also be developing a system to counteract the Shahed, the trials are already scheduled for this summer.
But these current devices and projects cannot still completely replace other air defense systems, said a Bloomberg intelligence analyst. They are not effective against missile attacks, which are rather counteracted by American patriotic systems.
Ai at the service of combat … and big tech
The time of the American magazine had titled in February 2024 “The First Ai War”, highlighting the greatest use of artificial intelligence on the battlefield. In this conflict, the advantage seems to go to Ukraine.
A study published in 2024 by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) indicates that “against all probabilities, it is the Ukrainian army that stood out for its use of weapons promoted by AI”. An observation shared by the Centers for the European Policy Network, which already said in 2023 that “kyiv used the Moscow more efficiently.”
The AI is integrated into military teams for a diversity of missions, lists the two authors of Ifri Amélie Férey and Laure de Roucy-Rhoregonde: observation, recognition, identification, classification, orientation, electronic warfare, logistics, supply, cybersecurity, health, simulation and training.
In the case of drones, the use of AI is particularly useful to escape detection and interference systems. Integrated algorithms increase the resilience of the systems, especially in the terminal phase, we detail in BFM Business: preprogrammed and guided by artificial intelligence, drones are more likely to achieve their objective.
According to IFRI’s study, the massive use of Ukraine of AI for his military team has been supported by heavyweights in the sector: Palant, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Starlink have established associations with the Ukrainian authorities. A blessing for these companies, which can prove their systems in real war conditions and present them as “proven combat” for potential buyers, but also obtain data to “innovate and quickly improve their models in real time.”
Lessons for France
This drone of the battlefield is carefully followed by France and represents “a new agreement for French armies,” according to General Breton, who specifies that the ministry is inspired by what is happening in Ukraine to develop new work doctrines.
The objective is to be able to offer low -cost mass production, while integrating advanced technologies. As such, the “Ukrainian laboratory” represents a school case: an ecosystem composed of more than 300 new companies that brings together soldiers and civilians, producing systems considered “as consumables, in the same way as ammunition”, specifies General Breton. The robotization of the battlefield continues at high speed.
Source: BFM TV
