Cost-effective way to wage war: Drone economics of Russia-Uk…

Drones have taken the world by a storm. While military use has been prevalent for years now, the recent skirmishes have truly capitalised on the insane economics of waging a war using drones. In the past week, South Korea was baffled at its inability to deal with smaller sized drones sent over by North Korea.

The expense of missiles does not justify use to counter such drones but helicopters and machine guns remain ill-equipped to handle. Across the continent, Ukraine is also ready to employ drones in hopes to turn the tide in its favour.

Ukraine researches ways to take down Russian drones

As Russia continues to invade Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has announced plans to develop combat drones to counter the exploding drones that Russia has used in the conflict.  According to Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine has already purchased around 1,400 drones, primarily for reconnaissance purposes, but is now looking to develop strike drones that can attack targets from three to 10 kilometers away. Fedorov stated that these drones could be used in “more missions” in the future, though he did not provide further details.

In recent weeks, Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of carrying out several drone strikes on Russian military bases, including one on Monday in which they claimed to have shot down a drone approaching the Engels airbase. Ukraine has not formally acknowledged these attacks, but has made vague threats of retaliation for Russia’s invasion. In response, Ukraine is reportedly researching and developing drones that can fight and take down other drones.

In addition to the drones, Ukraine is also relying on satellite internet systems, such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, to maintain communication during the conflict. Many cities and towns in Ukraine have experienced power cuts lasting up to 10 hours, and mobile phone towers have been destroyed or damaged by Russian airstrikes. To combat this, the Ukrainian government is attempting to link its 30,000 mobile-phone towers to generators, and is working with the European Union to bring 10,000 more Starlink stations to the country. These stations will be available to the public through “Points of Invincibility,” which offer shelter, electricity, and other amenities to those displaced by the fighting or power outages.

US implements measures to halt Iran’s supply to Russia

The Biden administration is taking drastic measures to halt Iran’s production and delivery of drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine, according to intelligence, military, and national security officials. This effort, which aims to disrupt Iran’s manufacturing of the drones, make it more difficult for Russia to launch them, and provide Ukraine with defences to shoot them down, is reminiscent of the years-long program to cut off Iran’s access to nuclear technology.

To deprive Iran of the Western-made components necessary to manufacture the drones, the administration has accelerated its efforts and is rushing in new technologies to give early warning of approaching drone swarms and improve Ukraine’s chances of bringing them down.

However, these approaches have encountered significant challenges, as Iran is using its expertise in spreading nuclear centrifuge manufacturing around the country and finding “dual use” technologies on the black market to sidestep export controls, according to American intelligence officials. Based on the information available in the public domain, one of the Iranian companies named as a key manufacturer of drones being bought by Russia, Qods Aviation, has a history of appearing on the United Nations’ lists of suppliers for Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

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