Ukrainian drones become the main hunters of Russian military helicopters

The war in Ukraine has relied heavily on mortars and artillery from the start. At the same time, drones have evolved from a novelty in 2022 to the weapon of choice in 2023 to control the entire tactical space, according to Samuel Bendett, a drone expert at the Center for Naval Analyses.
As The Guardian writes, both single strike tactics and entire "shelling" are used, when drops can last for hours and stop infantry assaults.
Although battery life limits flight time, a kamikaze FPV drone can fly 20 km in good weather. However, since saving money is the main thing, bomber drones, which operate within a radius of up to 5 kilometers and return after the attack, remain the priority.
At first, drones in Ukraine were a civil society initiative, when the military, their friends and relatives raised funds and bought UAVs for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Later, Ukrainians in the rear began assembling drones in their homes and garages. They were then sent to brigade workshops for modification. Now the balance is changing.
As of December, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry had supplied the military with 1.1 million FPV drones and 100,000 more sophisticated devices. Russia had provided the occupation forces with 1.2 to 1.4 million UAVs. Thus, parity in this type of weaponry is maintained. There is little technological difference between the parties - each instantly copies the other.
Drones are now being actively used to counter Russian drones and have even begun to be used to hunt Russian helicopters. In the summer of 2024, two successful hits were recorded
In addition, artificial intelligence is increasingly used for piloting and targeting. Land and sea drones have also appeared. It is expected that if the war continues, the scale of production and diversity of drones will only increase. At the same time, the creation of obstacles with electronic warfare is energy-intensive and difficult to maintain. Electronic warfare itself requires sending stronger, more destructive signals.
With Donald Trump set to return to the White House soon and potentially halt or reduce US support, Ukraine's own technologies will become even more important.
As media reported, the Unmanned Systems Forces were created in Ukraine . The commander of this branch of the military is Hero of Ukraine Vadim Sukharevsky .
In 2024, high-speed, maneuverable, dinner-plate-sized drones became a key weapon in Ukraine’s defense , proving effective against massive Russian ground attacks, The Wall Street Journal reports.
On December 31, 2024, for the first time in the world, an air target was destroyed using a Magura V5 attack naval drone equipped with missile weapons.