The political debate over the role of drones in changing the course of wars and military confrontations cannot be ignored. This comes against the backdrop of developments in Russian military operations in Ukraine. Reports point to the influential role that drones play in the development of ground combat.
The most recent case was the shooting down of a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet by a collision with an Iranian Shahed 136 drone. This was seen by some experts as a turning point for air supremacy.
Drones, which are advancing very rapidly technologically, are attracting the attention of many military technologists because they have advanced operational capabilities or their production costs have dropped to the point where it is worthwhile to engage them with a missile or missile defense.
Other tracking technologies under development have not proven very effective at shooting down drones, especially advanced drones. In the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv, drones set fire to warehouses storing sunflower oil, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Aircraft can be used to strike medium- or low-value targets to achieve psychological and economic impact in conflicts without risking the high cost of using advanced missiles or deploying expensive fighter aircraft (the US F-16 costs between $65 million and $70 million, and the French Rafale costs about $90 million) in operations that could end in heavy human and material casualties.
Experts believe that much of what is happening in Ukraine has to do with technological conflict, not just tank battles, artillery, and conventional missiles. So-called IT fighters, mostly Ukrainian volunteers, are playing an influential role in firing on Russian targets inside Ukrainian territory with Turkish-made Bayrakdar drones, the largest use of aerial drones in wars to date.
These weapons are a key lever for both parties to the conflict, Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have launched a campaign to donate non-professional and commercial drones to build what Kiev calls a “drone army.”
Experts say small commercial drones can play an important role in transmitting live images from behind enemy lines, so those images can be quickly used to shoot down clumsy artillery shells and easily adjust their coordinates to ensure maximum accuracy. There is no doubt that the technological advances Ukraine enjoyed before the war contributed significantly to the conflict situation.
Mikailo Vedrov, the Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation, sometimes points out the importance of the superiority scene of the military leadership. He is committed to mobilizing donations of drones, as well as programs to train, maintain and operate them.
Donations are being collected in several countries, including Europe and the US. It is a collection of commercial drones that meet minimum standards so that they can be used in various fields. The manufacturers of these aircraft believe that Ukraine has become an important testing ground for their products, so their ability to operate in difficult environments could be recognized.
The Ukrainian minister confirms that non-professional and commercial drones have proven their effectiveness on the battlefields. According to reports, Russia also uses non-professional drones for reconnaissance flights.
I don’t think it will stop there. Drones will become the toughest battlefield in the coming years, especially given the global military trend toward integrating “automation” and artificial intelligence into so-called robotic process automation, which minimizes reliance on human factors in favor of reliance on embedded autonomous systems.
This has radically changed the nature of combat and is accelerating the development of an innovative new generation of weapons and combat equipment, which will primarily include aerial drones that are expected to destroy and defeat targets better than current modern combat aircraft.
Anyone who observes the difference between the US Predator MQ-1 drone, which was used in Afghanistan and other US intervention areas nearly two decades ago, and the combat capabilities of the Turkish Bayrakdar and even the Iranian Note 136 and other drones understands that the fundamental dilemma is to create a generation of low-cost drones with effective capabilities.
This allows a single airstrike by a large number of these (cheap, primarily Iranian) aircraft in a framework similar to the missile delivery strategy that remains a dilemma for missile defense. This attack causes great destruction as the chances of shooting it down are diminishing.
The cheap production costs of Iranian drones make them dangerous but also important, as experts say these drones have capabilities that exceed the levels of their costs. It is cheaper than all others, especially since it has proven its operational capability in various tests.
I believe that the price and cost factor was the main motive that led Russia to buy a large number of these aircraft, and not because of its technical capabilities, as it is one of the leading countries in the production of this military equipment.
This suggests that the likelihood of these Iranian aircraft being used regionally and internationally will increase in the coming period, which in turn is a consequence of growing Iranian influence. Iran, which lacks a modern air force, has a significant drone industry that has become a cheap and effective weapon in military conflicts.
