Photos: Ukraine’s Battlefield Drones

Images of some of the many small drones being used on Ukraine’s battlefields

More than 450 days since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the value of Ukraine’s fleet of small battlefield drones is still growing. Both soldiers and civilians are being trained to pilot and maintain many kinds of purpose-built and modified commercial drones. These small quadcopters help to fill a gap between larger military drones and soldiers in the field. They are being used as reconnaissance platforms, as aid for artillery strikes, and as “loitering munitions” or “kamikaze drones,” waiting to drop grenades on enemy positions or flying explosives directly into targets. Russian forces are also using similar devices, driving each side to build up anti-drone technologies as well.