Ukraine's tech shift: How drones and AI change modern battlefield tactics
Defense production in Ukraine switched to high-tech solutions after last years counter-offensive didnt work as planned. Local companies now make thousands of drones and anti-drone systems monthly
The way Ukraine fights changed big-time since Yuriy Shelmuk started making drone jammers: his company now makes 2500 units monthly with a six-week waitlist (thats way more than just an year ago)
After last years counter-offensive didnt work well because of russian drones and mines‚ Ukraineʼs military-tech sector got super-busy. Halyna Yanchenko‚ a local parliament member points out that their defense industry is now changing faster than anywhere else in the world
Both sides are making lots of drones now — about 1‚5 million each per year: most of them are cheap first-person-view machines that cost a few hundred bucks. Defense minister Herman Smetanin says the future is clear: its gonna be robot-vs-robot combat
The tech-shift is real big now; hereʼs what changed:
- Soldiers control guns from safe spots
- Unmanned vehicles deliver stuff to front-lines
- AI helps make quick combat decisions
- Electronic warfare systems block enemy drones
The money side is tricky though — defense production grew from $1b to $20b since the wars start but Ukraine can only buy half of what its making. Kateryna Mykhalko from Tech Force says lots of companies think about moving abroad cause they cant export their stuff (its not allowed during war-time)
Local companies face other issues too: finding good workers is hard and theres no long-term contracts from government. But still the industry keeps growing — there are over 800 defense companies now and most started after russia invaded about 3 years ago
Modern war is a confrontation of technologies for detection jamming and destruction at a distance
