Name: How drones evolved from heavy machines to cyborg cockroaches
Uploaded: 2026-01-22T15:38:21.506Z
Duration: 2 min 16 s
Description: In 2025, more than 1,000 suspicious drone flights were registered in Germany. That underlines the growing role drones play in warfare and espionage. And they become more sophisticated by the day.

In 2025, more than 1,000 suspicious drone flights were registered in Germany. That underlines the growing role drones play in warfare and espionage. And they become more sophisticated by the day.

The evolution of military drones has accelerated, especially since the 2022 conflict in Ukraine, shifting from large, costly aircraft like the Predator and Reaper to small quadcopters built from commercial parts. These drones, often used for surveillance or converted into weapons, are now responsible for a significant portion of battlefield casualties and have spurred an international arms race.

Recent advancements include the development of biobots—cyborg cockroaches equipped with small electric backpacks for navigation—making them nearly undetectable and of interest to military organizations such as the German armed forces. While current uses focus on surveillance and rescue, future applications may include carrying explosives, highlighting the increasing sophistication and diversification of drone technology.

How drones evolved from heavy machines to cyborg cockroaches

An army of cockroaches, ready for the battlefield, unquestioningly obeying orders. Sci-fi? Fantasy? Absolutely not. Biobots, a fusion of robots and tiny living insects, could be the next big step for military drones. When you think about drone warfare, you will probably imagine something like this. The Predator and Reaper drones, infamously used by the US military for long range strikes in its war on terror. So how did drones evolve from giant flying death machines to literal cyborg cockroaches? Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a wide variety of drones have come into use in warfare. They are now responsible for most casualties in Ukraine and have developed at an unprecedented pace. Instead of the very expensive drones used by the US, the Russian and Ukrainian armies largely rely on small quadcopters made from off-the-shelf components. When used as surveillance drones, they don't look much different than hobby drones. But once a grenade is attached to them, they turn into deadly weapons. Kamikaze drones also play a big role in the war. Russia often uses hundreds of them in a single attack. For Ukraine, kamikaze water drones prove vital for attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet and oil tankers. A new international drone race is on and it is getting more sophisticated by the day. And AI is a game-changer. Many surveillance drones can already operate completely autonomously, while most lethal drones still rely on a human operator to confirm the target which the AI has selected. But drones have weaknesses. They can be electronically jammed, which has led to the development of fiber-optic tethers. The used cables litter the battlefields in Ukraine. And drones are relatively easy to detect, which brings us back to the cyber-cockroaches developed in Germany. They only carry a small electric backpack, which stimulates them to go in the right direction. Apart from that, they are completely organic, which makes them almost undetectable. Unsurprisingly, the German military has already shown interest in this project. For now, the company's focus is on surveillance and rescue missions. But the cyber-cockroaches could also carry explosives in the future.

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