‘We don’t have infantry’: Ukraine’s war machine evolves into machine war
Defense News • • world
Key Points:
- Ukraine's army has been severely depleted in manpower, with frontline units often operating at 30% to 60% of authorized strength, leading to increased reliance on drones, robots, and unmanned systems to hold the front lines.
- The integration of unmanned technology has become a core military strategy, with drone strikes accounting for up to 80% of enemy targets destroyed by the end of 2025, effectively allowing a single drone operator to perform the combat role of an entire infantry squad.
- Ukraine established a dedicated Unmanned Systems Forces branch in 2024, focusing on autonomous and remote warfare, with rapid improvements in drone delivery times and a goal to create a 15-kilometer unmanned "kill zone" along the front
