- 2 days ago
Killer drones now shape Russia’s war in Ukraine. Here’s the terrifying future they reveal.
👉 What World Leaders NEED to Know about Russia: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6d9EIByxz1AdkmIOYUlrDd0rmByq5zSN
Drones have transformed the war in Ukraine far beyond anything the world expected. Cheap quadcopters now hunt soldiers, FPV drones stalk trenches, and long-range strike drones hit refineries, power stations, and entire cities. In this video, Elvira Bary breaks down how Russia builds, deploys, and evolves its drone forces — from battlefield crews to underground factories — and what this new age of drone warfare means for Ukraine, Europe, and global security. If you want to understand the future of war, this is where it starts.
Video Chapters:
00:00 The Age of Killer Drones: Inside Russia’s War in Ukraine
02:26 A Fundamental Shift
05:52 The Arms Race
11:02 A Drone Day
14:44 From Factory to Frontline
19:54 The Coming Drone Threat
JOIN ME ON THE JOURNEY
👉 Sign-up for news about the New Book here: https://elvirabary.com/elvira-barys-newsletter/
MY HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK SERIES
➡️ Russian Treasures (a historical novel about the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil Wa
👉 What World Leaders NEED to Know about Russia: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6d9EIByxz1AdkmIOYUlrDd0rmByq5zSN
Drones have transformed the war in Ukraine far beyond anything the world expected. Cheap quadcopters now hunt soldiers, FPV drones stalk trenches, and long-range strike drones hit refineries, power stations, and entire cities. In this video, Elvira Bary breaks down how Russia builds, deploys, and evolves its drone forces — from battlefield crews to underground factories — and what this new age of drone warfare means for Ukraine, Europe, and global security. If you want to understand the future of war, this is where it starts.
Video Chapters:
00:00 The Age of Killer Drones: Inside Russia’s War in Ukraine
02:26 A Fundamental Shift
05:52 The Arms Race
11:02 A Drone Day
14:44 From Factory to Frontline
19:54 The Coming Drone Threat
JOIN ME ON THE JOURNEY
👉 Sign-up for news about the New Book here: https://elvirabary.com/elvira-barys-newsletter/
MY HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK SERIES
➡️ Russian Treasures (a historical novel about the Bolshevik Revolution and Russian Civil Wa
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00A new kind of war has arrived. And it's happening right now in Ukraine.
00:05Not a war of tank columns or trench charges, but a war where machines hunt people.
00:13A war where a $400 drawn with a grenade can decide the fate of a multi-million dollar tank.
00:23A war where Russian soldiers look up at the sky with terror because they know what's coming for them.
00:32Every week now we see the same image. A shaking soldier, a buzzing FPV engine, the camera diving closer.
00:42And then impact. That's not the future. It's the present.
00:47I'm Elvera Barry, a writer born in the Soviet Union.
00:51Tonight, we go inside the killer drone war in Ukraine. How it works, how it evolved so fast,
01:01and why the next phase may be even more dangerous. Here's our roadmap.
01:08First, a fundamental shift. How drones rewrote the rules of modern war.
01:14Second, the arms race. How Russia and Ukraine built two competing drone empires.
01:22Third, a drone day. The real life of a Russian drone crew on the front line.
01:29Fourth, from factory to front line. Inside Russia's drone production pipeline. From Alabuga to the battlefield.
01:38Fifth, the coming drone threat. What Russia's next moves mean for Europe and for global security.
01:47If independent analysis matters to you, please like this video, share it, subscribe,
01:54or support through Think Tank, PayPal, buy me a coffee or Super Things. That's how this channel survives
02:02without permission and without propaganda. And a quick note. I'm writing a novel about the war in Ukraine,
02:10the Snow Queen's Spring. And this new drone reality is a major part of it. If you want updates,
02:18there's a link right under the video. Let's begin. A fundamental shift.
02:28To see the change we are living through, start with the economics of war. For most of history,
02:35manpower was cheap. Any man could swing a club. During the ancient time, victory belonged to those
02:44who could feed, train, and move many men in the same pattern at the same time. That's why Greek infantry
02:52lined up as one body. Why Rome could scale its legions. Why Chinese armies held shape over distance.
03:02The build grew with every layer of structure. Then war grew pricier still. In the medieval world,
03:10skill and kit got concentrated. A knight's armor, a superb horse, a lifetime of training. None of it was
03:20cheap. Better horses meant that troops and supplies could move faster and speed off on decided battles.
03:27It was same with Mongol archers. Years of practice. The best gear money could buy. And discipline.
03:36Gunpower rearranged the math again. A peasant with weeks of drill could now shoot a noble knight who
03:44practiced for a lifetime. But the build didn't vanish. It moved. Cannons, then machine guns,
03:53then aircraft and tanks. The winner was the side that could produce the most complex,
04:00most expensive systems and train crews at scale. In the 20th century, victory went to the strongest
04:08military industries until the richest states developed nuclear weapons to keep them safe.
04:16No one would dare attack a country that can strike back with nukes. That logic held into the 2020s.
04:26And then Ukraine showed how it could break. How a drone worth about $400 could destroy a tank
04:35or an armored vehicle that cost millions. That's how Russia lost hundreds of armored units in their
04:44first months of war. It still had a much stronger military industry than Ukraine. It had made money.
04:51It could produce better war machinery and faster. But all of this could no longer guarantee victory.
04:59Next, those semi-cheap drones began striking Russian oil refineries. Each such hit takes out expensive
05:08equipment and forces a shutdown for months, with lost opportunity costs ripping across the economy.
05:16Conventional air defense systems can do little against a swarm of drones. Coming in dozens,
05:23they easily overwhelm a system that was designed to handle a few big targets. Even when a drone is
05:30brought down, it still does damage. One drone out means one air defense missile out. A drone will take
05:38a few days to replace. A missile will take months and a six or seven-digit cost. That's how drones
05:48change the
05:49map of war. The arms race. When Russia crossed the border in February 2022, drones showed up first as
06:00helpers. Small quadricopters. DJI Mavics and homemade rigs that were used to film weddings. Now flew ahead of
06:10infantry and watched the roads. They spotted columns, guided artillery, and filmed the hits. Those short
06:19clips did more than boost morale. They gave officers proof that a thousand-dollar eye in the sky could
06:27make a battery shoot like a sniper. Once commanders saw that, they began to push for more drone crews.
06:36In March, Turkey started to supply Ukraine with Bayraktar TB2 drones. They had range and endurance
06:44and carried an explosive charge. They struck convoys and depots and helped push Russian forces back
06:52from Kyiv. You could train a new pilot in weeks, not years. That mattered in a country fighting for
07:00survival. On the Russian side, the change followed the same lines. If a small team with a drone could
07:09cue fire in seconds, then counter-battery, rather, was not the answer. You needed your own drones.
07:17By summer, Russian quadricopters were hunting guns, vehicles, and dugouts. Both armies were building
07:25eyes-to-guns loops where a drone observer and a fire unit talked in real time. Later 2022 brought
07:34another lesson. Distance. Russia started to buy Shahed Kamikaze drones from Iran and used them for
07:43long-range attacks on Ukrainians' grid and cities. They were slow, noisy, and easy to shoot down.
07:52But they were cheap and could be launched in packs. And they reached deep. By winter,
08:00you could feel a shift in mindset. Commanders began to treat drones not as support, but as the first
08:08piece on the port. Everything else – armor, artillery, even infantry movement – now orbits the small
08:17aircraft. Landsat drones became Russia's close-range weapon of choice. They search, see, and strike in
08:25one body, and they made life hard for Ukrainian artillery and air defenses. Ukraine's mirror move
08:33was FPV Kamikaze drones with warheads. They stocked trenches, vehicles, and even individual soldiers.
08:41FPVs are now the front-line workhorses because they are cheap, fast to build, and deadly precise at short
08:49range. Today there are many types of drones used by both sides. Reconquads, Mavics, and their cousins
08:57give every platoon live stable video. Hunter killers, FPVs, and Lancets go after armored trucks, guns, and crews.
09:07Transport drones, big quad, and octocopters such as the Baba Yuga model bring armor,
09:13water, and medical kits to trenches of the dark. They also drop heavier bombs through tree canopies.
09:21On land and sea, the same logic takes hold. Send something small, cheap, and expendable where you
09:28would never risk a man. Ground robots – everything from silent tracked scouts that slip along the gray zone
09:36to hulking remote controlled platforms that carry wounded or crates of ammunition. They scout minefields,
09:45examine ruins, and sometimes carry shaped charges to blow a locked gate or fuel truck. At sea, the story
09:53took an even sharper turn. Ukraine's naval drones changed the balance of power in a place where it once
10:02seemed untouchable. Small unmanned boats, fast low and packed with explosives, started to patrol the
10:10Black Sea like wolves. They struck at night, darting between waves guided by satellite and operator-like.
10:19The new wave of sea drones crippled Russia's dominance at sea. They hit warships and oil depots,
10:28tore into port facilities, and forced Russia to move much of its navy east, effectively rendering it
10:36useless in the Black Sea. Then there are the deep strike drones.
10:41Long-range, one-way quads. Ukrainian designs like UJ-series and Babur. Russian shahats fly hundreds of
10:50miles to hit fuel depots, refineries, and factories. They are slow to build, but still much cheaper than
10:58cruise missiles. A drone day
11:04A Russian drone crew is small, two to four people. One flies the quad, one runs the map and radio,
11:13one watches batteries, spares, and the antenna. If they have a second team,
11:19the team launches strike drones while the first flies the raccoon. They set up a few kilometers
11:26behind the line, under trees, in a ruined barn, or behind a berm. They need power first, charged packs,
11:34a small generator, sometimes a car alternator, then signal, a control link, a video link,
11:42and a backup if jamming hits. Laptops or tablets, a set of goggles for FPV, and a field kit for
11:52repairs.
11:53Training is short and constant. Volunteer schools and military courses turn gamers and mechanics into
12:00pilots in weeks. The army is formalizing it now. Russia has even announced a separate unmanned systems
12:08branch and pushes youth programs to feed it. A typical path starts with simulator hours,
12:16then line of sight flights, then FPV with explosives, then tactics. Hide the antenna,
12:24move the team often, neither launch twice from the same spot. The biggest danger for drone crews is
12:32RAP . It jams GPS so drones drift or crash. It floods control channels so the pilot loses the feed.
12:44It listens for emitters so artillery can hit the source. How do crews work around jamming?
12:53They change frequencies, shorten flights, use directional antennas, and fly very low.
13:02They add simple guidance that keeps the drone pointed even if the picture freezes. And when jamming
13:09is too strong, they switch the medium. Fiber-optic drones unspool a cable back to the operator,
13:16so there's nothing to jam. Here's what a drone day looks like for a typical Russian infantry platoon.
13:24One section holds the trench. A drone crew rolls in before dawn, hides in the car,
13:31and sets up. Ten minutes on batteries and links. Then the first Reconquad is in the air. It scans
13:39routes, tree lines, and roofs. The operator calls out coordinates. A mortar team adjusts in real time.
13:49If the feed begins to fuzz, the crew pivots the antenna or shifts a few dozen meters.
13:55Midday, they swap batteries, rotate pilots, and launch an FPV to chase a spotted gun.
14:01If the screen snowstorms, they dive low, use terrain or abort.
14:07The crew moves again before the enemy can triangulate them. Later afternoon, if a strong
14:16jammer shows up, they launch the fiber-optic first punch to cut that node and open a lane.
14:22At night, a heavy octocopter may deliver ammo to forward trenches or drop a larger bomb into a
14:31dugout the Reconquad tacked during the day. By dawn, they've changed height sides twice
14:37and locked every good antenna angle they found. From factory to front line
14:47Where do Russian drones come from? Think three big lanes. State factories, private or semi-private
14:54workshops, and parts that slip in through parallel imports. The big state story is Alabuqa, the special
15:02economic zone in Tatarstan. That's where Russia built its largest drone factory. It handles localized
15:10production of Iranian shahed-type one-way attack drones, rebranded as Geraint 2. Investigators have
15:18traced management links between Alabuqa entities and Iranian designers. The plan produces about 5,000
15:26drones per year. Next are workshops, some tied to units, others starting as volunteer labs or private
15:33firms. Zala Air Group, a subsidiary of Kalashnikov Concern that produces Landsat drones, is the best
15:40known of them. Thousands of FPV airframes and control modules come from mixed sources. Civil
15:48and parts repurposed, 3D printed mounts, cables, and cameras. Different counts place Russia's total
15:55drone output between 1.5 and 4 million per year. The parts problem never went away. Formerly,
16:04you can't sell to Russia any electronic components that can be used to make more equipment. However,
16:12parts still flow through third countries and grey channels known as parallel imports. Independent
16:19research groups keep finding Western chips and cameras inside downed Russian and Iranian drones.
16:25Where does that leave innovation? Ukraine moves faster at the edge. It was the first to introduce
16:31fiber optic links, new FPV tricks, and fresh airframes. It's built a wartime garage culture with hundreds of
16:41makers and daily battlefield feedback. Russia lags on ideas but wins on scale. It can spin up school
16:50programs, fund big plans, and buy in bulk. Its drones are not the best designs, but there's a lot of
16:59them,
17:00all the time. All the time. Analysts expect even bigger runs, including possible co-production beyond
17:06Russia's borders. Control remains the missing piece. The Kremlin is trying to pull the cottage industry
17:13into state lanes while keeping output high. Reports from Watchdogs describe how Alabaka records and manages a
17:23large, low-cost workforce to meet quarters. And I have a personal story from my reader.
17:29A man she knew for years took an assembler job at the Alabaka plant this summer. The job was
17:37advertised widely in Tatarstan, Mordovia, and other nearby regions. The salary was breathtaking – 130,000
17:46rubles, about $1,600 per month, almost three times the local average. And the qualifications bar was set
17:56quite low. No special skills needed, just a rigorous security check. That man struggled to land a decent
18:05job for years, yet he passed the selection. About half of those who came for interview on that day
18:12were accepted as well. The company reimburses part of travel expenses to all candidates. All hires from
18:21outside the region got free accommodation. They can stay there as long as they are employed. Personally,
18:28that man is against war and doesn't support Putin. Yet, he could not resist taking this job. It's the
18:37best he can possibly have in Russia. He speaks no other language and has no money to try a fresh
18:43start in
18:44another country. The Alabaka plant is still hiring widely. They are scaling up as the government wants
18:51more drones. And, no doubt, there will be more desperate men and women willing to take these jobs
18:58as the Russian economy keeps shrinking. But not all workers come voluntarily or knowingly. Investigations
19:06by the Washington Post, BBC and Reuters revealed that young women from African countries, including
19:13Uganda and Kenya, were lured to Russia with promises of well-paid jobs or study programs in Europe.
19:21When they arrived, many found themselves in the same Alabaka complex, assembling drones destined for the
19:29front. They were told they would work in marketing, hospitality or translation, but instead were placed
19:38on factory lines under tight surveillance, with their passports confiscated. Some managed to contact
19:46journalists and escape. Others stayed trapped by debt and fear. The coming drone threat
19:56Earlier this year, the drone war between Russia and Ukraine began to spill beyond the battlefield.
20:02Denmark and Norway reported coordinated incursions near airports and military sites.
20:09Munich's airport was shut down for hours after drone sightings. These weren't mass attacks. But even a
20:18handful of flying objects froze entire cities, revealing just how thin Europe's defenses are over civilian
20:26infrastructure. Why is Putin testing Europe's patience with these demonstrative drone flights over
20:33foreign territory? Because he is following an old playbook. One that dates back to the Mongols.
20:42Centuries ago, they sought panic among their enemies, forcing each frightened tribe or kingdom to protect
20:50its own borders instead of helping its neighbors. Divided, they were easy to crush one by one.
20:58That's exactly the strategy Putin hopes to repeat. If Germany or Poland start focusing solely on their own
21:06defense, they may hesitate to keep supplying Ukraine. And that's what the Kremlin wants. A slow unraveling of
21:15Western unity, achieved not through victory on the battlefield, but through exhaustion, destruction and fear.
21:23At the same time, Putin desperately needs a victory of any kind. The special operation that was supposed to last
21:32days has dragged on for years with no end in sight. Russia's economy is shrinking, sanctions are biting,
21:42and public discontent is growing. Conquering Ukraine failed. But seizing or destabilizing a small Baltic
21:50state, a region demonized for years by Russian propaganda, could be sold at home as redemption.
21:58Even if a direct clash with NATO ended in defeat, Putin might still call it a win. Losing to Ukraine
22:07looks
22:08humiliating. Losing to the entire NATO alliance looks inevitable. That way he can exit the war without
22:16admitting weakness. His calculus has never been moral. It's theatrical. Soldiers' lives, Russian or European,
22:25are just expandable props in that performance. That's why it's dangerous to assume he'll never attack us.
22:33The world made the same mistake in February 2022, believing such a war made no sense. But Putin acted on
22:42a warped version of reality, fed by corrupt intelligence and self-deception. And launched it. Anyway,
22:49we can't rule out that he'll do the same again. If he decides to strike, drones will come first. Swarms
22:58of hundreds launched to blind radars, destroy infrastructure and create chaos before ground
23:05forces move in. European security now depends on coordination and preparation. Authoritarian systems
23:12do eventually collapse. They rot from within. But that takes years. Millions inside Russia's machinery
23:21will keep it running as long as they can because their survival depends on it. Hoping that it will all
23:28just fade away is not a strategy. So what can small nations do? First, prepare for the fight they can
23:38win.
23:39Build early warning networks that merge radar optical and radiofrequency data. Deploy interceptor drones,
23:47machines that hunt other drones. These systems can lunge vertically. Track and disable hostile drones
23:56without wasting expensive missiles. For ground defense, programmable ammo guns, such as Skynaks,
24:03offer affordable protection against small aerial threats. Second, governments must build rules,
24:10not just tools. Police and military units need clear authority to jam, capture, or destroy drones in civilian
24:19airspace. Airports and power stations must be tied into regional sensor grids. Stockpiles of batteries,
24:29propellers, and spare parts must be ready before the crisis begins, not after. Finally,
24:36Europe must think in networks, not borders. NATO's new doctrine already treats low-altitude drone swarms
24:45as a strategic threat, and the European Commission plans a continent-wide anti-drone capability by 2027.
24:55But no system will matter without trust. The next war will test not just weapons but unity. Whether European
25:06states can share data, act quickly, and respond as one. Because if Putin decides to test NATO,
25:15us resolve with drones instead of tanks, the first battle won't be for land. It will be for time,
25:23for minutes of warning, seconds of decision, and the courage to stand together before the sky goes dark.
25:31We've lived through a short season when war got cheaper. Small crews with cheap drones could punch far
25:38above their weight. But that window won't stay open forever. Big states will stack engineers, train new
25:46branches, and pour money into country systems. When the balance resets, resources will rule again.
25:54Ukraine landed inside that window. A weaker country held out and struck back because their new tools were
26:03affordable and flexible. That is the sober lesson for everyone. Speed and practice beats scale.
26:12Before we go, I'd love to hear from you. What piece of technology, big or small, completely changed the way
26:20you work, think, or live? Maybe it transformed your profession. Maybe it saved something. Maybe it ruined
26:28something. Or maybe it forced you to adapt overnight. The same way drones are forcing armies to rewrite the
26:37rules of war. Tell me in the comments. I read everything you write. And if this video helped you see
26:43Russia's
26:44war from a different angle, it would mean a lot if you liked this video, shared it, and subscribed.
26:51It takes only a moment for you, but it keeps this channel alive. If you'd like to go further, you
26:58can
26:59join the think tank, buy me a coffee, support through PayPal, or simply press super thanks under this video.
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27:27Amen.
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