Russia May Be Winning The Deep Drone War
Ukraine's drones dominate over the front line; Russia's dominate behind it
Ukraine has the drone edge close to the front line
But Russia may have the advantage deeper behind the front
Russian deep strikes threaten to unravel Ukrainian logistics
Ukrainian drone units can’t shift to the deep fight until the front line stabilizes
Ukrainian drones are everywhere all the time all along the 1,100-km front line of Russia’s 47-month wider war on Ukraine. They’re one of the main reasons why the Russians are struggling to advance faster than a walking pace.
But first-person-view attack drones and bigger bomber drones normally range just a few kilometers (in the case of the FPVs), and around 20 km (in the case of the bomber drones). There’s another, deeper kill zone just behind this nearest kill zone—and it’s here that Ukrainian drones are thinner in the air.
The balance between front-line drone strikes and deep drone strikes has become one of the war’s most consequential debates—because Russia’s own elite drone units are already exploiting the gap, hitting Ukrainian airfields, trucks and trains up to 200 km behind the lines.
That’s why it’s so encouraging to see Ukraine’s special operations forces striking with Fire Point FP-2 drones that range as far as 200 km. A recent video montage (see below) depicts the FP-2s blasting Russian supply depots, maintenance centers and troop staging areas in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast, tens of kilometers behind the front line.
Yes, killing Russian infantry along the line of contact is important. But degrading Russian logistics is important, too. Ukraine’s FPV and bomber drone teams focus on the former, while units operating deep-strike drones such as the FP-2 focus on the latter.
But the recent FP-2 raids belie an uncomfortable truth for the Ukrainians. A few dramatic FP-2 strikes don’t change the fact that FPV and bomber drone units are getting the lion’s share of resources as Ukrainian commanders scramble to stabilize the front line.
