Ukraine caught off guard as Russian guided jet drones expand faster than expected

Ukraine knew Russian jet-powered drones could become a major weapon. It did not expect them to arrive in such numbers, or so quickly.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have conducted a broad campaign of attacks against targets in Ukraine's border and frontline regions. The reported campaign zone extends more than 100 kilometres into some parts of the country, according to a map shown by Serhii Beskresnyi, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on defence technology.

The newer drones do not simply follow coordinates programmed in advance. Operators control them in real time through mesh-network modems, allowing them to attack moving targets and choose more valuable targets after seeing live images. A Ukrainian intelligence representative told the Donbas.Realities project that the modems, which resemble black boxes, weigh several kilograms and cost up to 3,000 euros each. They are several times more expensive than Starlink, but enable controlled attacks over longer distances.

Danyla Shengelskyi, a manager with the Dronopad project at the Vernis Zhyvym support fund, said mesh networks are difficult to suppress with electronic warfare. “From a technical perspective, a mesh network is difficult to suppress with electronic warfare. In addition, there is no electronic warfare system that can suppress the Russian network 100 percent. It is very difficult. With a stable connection and the ability to control drones in real time, they can attack more valuable targets because operators see the image and can decide what to strike first,” he said.

Ground stations in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territory transmit signals to the drones. Each drone can relay the signal to another, creating a network, although signal quality declines as more drones join and the distance from the station increases.

Despite those limitations, Russian jet-powered drones have already been detected over Kyiv, about 200 kilometres from the Russian border. Ukrainian officials said jet-powered Shahed drones make up most of this type of drone on some routes. Yurii Ihnat, a Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, said Russia launched five times more jet drones in July than in June. Conventional drones with internal-combustion engines remain more common, but the rapid expansion of the networked systems has created a major new problem for Ukrainian defences.

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From a technical perspective, a mesh network is difficult to suppress with electronic warfare. In addition, there is no electronic warfare system that can suppress the Russian network 100 percent. It is very difficult. With a stable connection and the ability to control drones in real time, they can attack more valuable targets because operators see the image and can decide what to strike first.