September 20, 2026: Ukraine has been using more ground combat and transport drones to reduce Ukrainian casualties and scare Russian troops who find themselves fighting armed amphibious drones. That last event happened recently when Ukrainian forces sought to retrieve a wounded comrade from an area still under fire by Russian troops and drones. The Ukrainians landed the combat drone from a naval drone to clear the area of Russian soldiers. Then a transport drone came in to take the wounded soldier back to safety and eventually to a military aid station. The supply drone was built to accommodate supplies or a soldier, wounded or otherwise. On the way back, the transportation drone was attacked by a Russian FPV drone, which detonated near the transport drone but did not disable the transport or the wounded soldier it was carrying.

Ground combat drones can carry a variety of weapons, but most have a 7.62mm machine gun with several hundred rounds of ammunition. A remote operator controls the weapon and the drone, wearing goggles or looking at a flat-screen display and operating a controller based on, or even a version of, a popular game controller.

Only about five percent of ground drone missions involve combat; the rest are for supplying the troops or retrieving wounded soldiers. Only about two percent of Ukrainian ground drone operations involve the armed drone using its machine gun.

The growing use of these ground drones has reduced Ukrainian combat losses and improved morale among Ukrainian soldiers. These drones assure troops that no matter how deep into the combat zone they are, the drones will get them out if wounded. These drones have already shown that they can travel more than ten kilometers to retrieve a casualty or supply a remote outpost under constant fire.

In one case, a soldier was stuck near Russian positions for 33 days. Six drones were destroyed during the rescue attempt. The seventh drone made it and completed a 64-kilometer trip to bring the soldier back. Before drones, a soldier in that position would have to be abandoned because too many more soldiers would be killed or wounded trying to carry out a rescue.

This extensive use of ground drones to supply, transport, and retrieve wounded soldiers is demoralizing to Russian troops. Russia has not implemented such a drone resupply and casualty evacuation system because Russia never took good care of its wounded, and often simply leaves wounded men behind, or even kills such soldiers who are in a lot of pain. Ukraine believes this use of ground drones has reduced its casualty rate by 30 percent. That means that there are more than eight Russian casualties for each Ukrainian one.

Currently, nearly 90 percent of the personnel losses are due to drones, which are everywhere in the combat zone, with Ukrainian drones outnumbering what the Russians can get into the air. On one day last July, Ukraine recorded and reported all its drone activity. There were 311 Russian personnel killed or wounded. Drones detected nearly 1,600 enemy targets and attacked them. In addition, drones pursued about 4,500 Russian personnel as well as over 21,000 other targets. On the water, in ports, or on rivers, 15 Russian vessels were hit. Other land targets destroyed included drone launch sites, 9 guns and howitzers, 337 shelters, 130 dugouts, 46 small drones, 8 land combat drones, 18 electronic warfare systems, 3 radar systems, and 98 crew antennas.

Ukrainian innovation and support for entrepreneurship have repeatedly overwhelmed Russian forces. The response was slow at first but soon had an enormous impact. Perplexed by Ukrainian tactics, the Russians persisted, thereby keeping the war going.

Drones were an unexpected development that had a huge impact on how battles were fought. Drones were successful because they were cheap, easily modified, and expendable. Forces could implement modifications and upgrades quickly and cheaply. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces soon used cheap quadcopter drones, with soldiers a few kilometers away controlling them via First Person View (FPV) goggles to see what the drone's camera saw. These drones cost a few hundred dollars each, with the most complex models going for about $1,000. Most of these drones carry a small number of explosives, so they can instantly become flying bombs that can strike a target and detonate. Some drones carry more explosives depending on what is needed to deal with a target.

These drones are awesome and debilitating weapons when used in large numbers. A major limitation on expanding drone operations is the need for trained drone operators. Ukraine found that many soldiers frequently played video games and were quick to adapt to drone operations, especially because they could use commercial game controllers.

The war has led to massive losses for Russian forces. So far, nearly a million Russian troops have died, deserted, or avoided military service because of Ukraine. Russia has lost most of its modern tanks along with many other armed vehicles and artillery systems.

For Russia, the most damaging Ukrainian innovation in drone warfare is their use of AI/Artificial Intelligence for drone targeting systems. The AI drone contains a targeting system that finds targets. The AI drone operator confirms which targets are real, and once a target is confirmed, the AI targeting system needs no further communication. It resists all forms of jamming.

FPV drones have radically changed modern warfare. These drones are an omnipresent aerial threat to all vehicles and infantry on foot. Each FPV drone costs less than a thousand dollars. Operators use the drone's video camera to see what is below and locate targets. Armed FPV operators are several kilometers away to decide when their FPV drones will drop explosives on an armored vehicle, which has thinner armor on top, or on infantry in the open or in trenches. To do so, drone operators often work in pairs, with one flying behind the other and focusing on the big picture while seeking a likely target. When the reconnaissance drone finds such a target, the armed drone is directed to it. The two FPV drone operators are usually in the same room or tent and can take control of new drones, which are lined up and brought outside for launch when needed. The reconnaissance drones are often unarmed, so they can spend more time in the air searching for a target.

The Ukrainians developed the FPV drone in 2022, when only a few FPV drone attacks were recorded. The Ukrainian Army was the first to appreciate the potential of FPV drones. By the summer of 2023, the Russian Army also began to use FPV drones in greater numbers. Since then, the number of FPV drone attacks has grown exponentially on both sides. Only 12% of those attacks destroyed the target, which could be a vehicle, a group of infantry, or even a sniper firing through a window from inside a building. In this case, the armed FPV drone would fly through the window and explode in the room the sniper was in. The only defense is having a nearby open door the sniper can run to or dive through as the FPV drone approaches. Sometimes that isn’t possible because the armed FPV drone comes down from above the window and then in. You don’t see those coming until it’s too late.