**Ukraine’s Drone Warfare: A New Era of Strikes Beyond the Radio Horizon**
In a bid to outsmart Russia’s military, Ukraine is developing new strike drones that can reach targets beyond the current radio horizon. This is a crucial breakthrough for the Ukrainian military, which has been struggling to hit high-value Russian equipment with their existing arsenal.
According to a long-time drone pilot in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine’s current drones can already reliably hit targets at a range of 30 kilometers. But with a new wave of development, the capabilities are expected to change dramatically in just a year’s time. The goal is to reach Russian equipment that lies just beyond the radio horizon – an area where video signals from Ukrainian strike drones are blocked by the earth’s curvature.
**The Need for a New Generation of Drones**
Over the past 18 months, Ukraine has been using short-range drones, like first-person-view (FPV) drones, to clear no-man’s land on either side of the front line. But these drones have limitations – they can only fly up to 20 kilometers without losing video signal. The area just beyond this range has become a major logistical nexus for Russia, and Ukraine is now looking to develop new drones that can reach high-value targets like Russian tanks, anti-air batteries, and rail junctures.
**The “Golden Medium” of Balance**
Ukrainian manufacturers are working on designing and testing new configurations of drone signaling that maintain connection into prime targets at 50 kilometers and further. The aim is to find the perfect balance between range, payload, and accuracy – a challenge known as the “golden medium.” Cost is also a major consideration, with Ukraine struggling to produce enough deep-strike drones that can hit Russian targets thousands of kilometers away from the border.
**Russian Electronic Warfare Foils Ukrainian HIMARS Rockets**
But despite these efforts, Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities have rendered U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets ineffective. James Lythgoe, who heads the Ukraine office for Shield AI, notes that HIMARS rockets have gone from 90% accuracy to just 20% against Russia today.
**The Need for Better Targeting**
As with many elements of drone warfare, many are waiting on better targeting, particularly enhanced by AI. Oleksiy, a director of development at WarBirds of Ukraine, says his company has managed to use new auto-targeting modules to set up strikes from just three kilometers away from the target.
**A New Era for Ukrainian Drone Warfare**
With these developments in mind, it’s clear that Ukraine is on the cusp of a new era in drone warfare. The stakes are high – if successful, these new drones could give Ukraine the edge it needs to take back control of its territory and push Russia out of its borders.
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