Drones date back to World War One, but Ukraine's war has seen their use evolve from niche roles to a central weapon, with thousands of UAVs scouting, directing artillery, and striking targets. Syakir Jasnee explains how warfare changed in 2025.

Washington

Drones have become central to modern warfare, with the conflict in Ukraine highlighting their expanded role. Affordable first-person view (FPV) drones, costing as little as $500, are now capable of destroying high-value military assets and have been responsible for the majority of combat casualties in recent battles. 

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have adapted their tactics, moving in small groups to avoid detection, while electronic warfare and fiber optic technology are used to counter drone threats. The development of AI-guided drones is underway, though experts say further advancements are needed before they see widespread use.

How have drones changed warfare in 2025?

Drones have been part of war for many years. Simple remote-controlled aircraft were tested as early as World War I, but the conflict in Ukraine has seen their use grow significantly. They are no longer just for special tasks. Now, they are key weapons on the battlefield. One of the most effective weapons in the Ukraine war is the small, low-cost first-person view drone. FPVs, originally designed for civilian racers, are controlled by pilots on the ground and often crash into targets with explosives. The total cost of the drone's components can be as little as $500. Benjamin Wolba is co-founder of the European Defence Tech Hub. So we have very cheap FPV drones costing just a couple hundred or thousand bucks, taking out very expensive, very bespoke systems such as tanks, fighter jets, helicopters. When you look at studies where combat kills come from, 70 to 80 percent of kills and injuries come from FPV drones. Ukrainian soldiers say drones force tanks and heavy vehicles to stay farther back from the front. There are so many now that it's hard to move safely in trenches or bring supplies. If you're a large group of people, you're a very easy target. Drones can hit you very easily. What do Ukrainians and Russians do at the moment? They advance in very small groups, two, three people. Why? Because if you disperse many groups, the drone has a hard time chasing those individual groups. The best countermeasure is electronic warfare. When a drone's signal is jammed, the pilot loses the ability to control the craft or can no longer see the video signal feed. But both Ukraine and Russia have ways to counter the jamming. So you're attaching a fiber optic cable on an FPV drone, and now you can transmit data through that fiber optic cable back to the operator. And the cable, it's on a spool, and it literally can extend 5, 10, by now 20 or even 50 kilometers. And the main benefit really being you do not need to rely on a radio link, which can be spoofed or jammed. Your communication cannot be disturbed, right? As long as the fiber stays on and does not break or get teared, you see what the drone sees and your enemy cannot hack your communication. In response to the challenges posed by electronic warfare systems, Ukraine and Russia are now racing to develop AI-guided drones. They find and hit targets on their own, without needing a constant signal from the pilot. Ukrainian industry figures say the tech needs more work before widespread use. In general, solutions change as threats change. So we need actually better radar technology to detect drones and to have better aerial intelligence. The same goes for intercepted drones.

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