The Ukrainian arms industry has developed by leaps and bounds in recent years. When, in February 2022decided to militarily invade Ukraine, kyiv depended almost 100% on Western-made weapons to be able to carry out medium-range attacks against the Russian rear.
This dependence on Western weapons (beyond limited deliveries) meant that Ukraine would have to be authorized by third countries to attack certain Russian targets such as headquarters, assembly points or weapons and supply depots.
Currently, the situation has changed radically. As reported , Ukraine has the capacity to produce drones with a range of between 30 and 300 kilometers that carry an explosive charge sufficient to destroy Russian command posts, supply trucks and air defense systems.
Some of these unmanned vehicles have been equipped with artificial intelligence systems that allow drones to overcome Russian interference autonomously setting their target if they lose the pilot’s signal.
Furthermore, it should be noted that those medium-range Ukrainian drones are quite cheap. The Army Tactical Missile Systemthe longest-range HIMARS-launched weapon supplied to Ukraine, costs about a million dollars per missile. However, Ukrainian drones cost only $5,000 per unit.
“The attacks appear to be having a significant impact on Russian logistics”
In this regard, George Barros, director of Innovation and Open Source Techniques of the Institute for the Study of War, has assured, in statements collected by Business Insiderthat “the medium-range Ukrainian attacks are marking the beginning of a new phase of the war”. According to the expert, it is “a really solid basis for Ukraine to stop Russian advances.”
For its part, Gil Child Dollara non-resident researcher at Defense Priorities, has highlighted that these Ukrainian drone attacks “in some sectors of the front, appear to be having a constant impact on frontline forces and making even Russian gradual infiltration tactics less viable.”
