Below the reader will find recent news about unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that are used in conflicts (Ukraine, Africa, etc.), new developments in drone use, and training by militaries for using drones during combat operations. Curated articles on the topics below are provided:
- Countering the Drone Swarm
- SOCOM’s Bullfrog – Drone Defense
- 1st Cav and Switchblade 600
- Small Engines for Drones
- Report: Foreign Components in Russian Drones
- Ukrainian Drones for U.S.
- Mavic Drones in Russia-Ukraine War
- Ukraine’s Interceptor Drones
- Report: Multilateral Policy on Autonomous Weapon Systems
- Best Defense: Lasers or Mobile Gun Trucks?
- Europe Gray Zone Fight in the Skies
- Europe’s Drone Wall
- Drones, Cartels, and West Africa
- Hitler’s ‘Flying Bomb’
Featured Topic
This article’s featured topic is about countering the drone swarm. Drones make up 70 per cent of the casualties in the Ukraine – Russian war. The war has evolved over the past three years and a big part of the change has been the growth of importance of drones in the conflict. The next wave of innovations by both Ukraine and Russia will be the development of swarms of drones guided by artificial intelligence. The U.S. needs to take note of this new aspect of offensive drone warfare and quickly develop systems to counter AI-guided drone swarms.
The most dangerous adversary that the U.S. could face in the future will likely be China. A conflict could certainly take place if the PRC makes a military move to invade Taiwan – some national security analysts say that could happen as early as 2027. China is investing heavily in autonomous systems – and swarms of drones could overwhelm Taiwan’s (and U.S.) defenses. These swarms, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI), can adapt to battlefield conditions and coordinate mass attacks without human interaction.
To prepare for a potential future conflict with China over Taiwan the Department of Defense needs to invest in emerging technologies such as high-power microwaves and AI-enabled command and control systems. These technologies need to be integrated into an overall drone defense plan that starts at the infantryman level and goes all the way up to the protection of strategic targets. In addition, the U.S. must quickly update its doctrine, tactics, and training to be able to effectively implement these technologies into a comprehensive, layered counter drone defense.
Stacie Pettyjohn and Molly Campbell of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) have wrote a 61-page report entitled Countering the Swarm: Protecting the Joint Force in the Drone Age, PDF, September 2025. https://www.cnas.org/publications/reports/countering-the-swarm
The report has six chapters:
- Closing the Counter-Drone Kill Chain
- Equipping the Force for Drone Defense
- The Army Under Fire, October 2023-February 2024
- The Battle of the Red Sea, November 2023-May 2025
- The Future Threat: Defending Against Chinese Drone Attacks
- Conclusion and Recommendations for DoD
U.S. and Drones
SOCOM’s Bullfrog – Drone Defense. U.S. Special Operations Command has awarded a contract for Allen Control Systems’s (ACS) Bullfrog autonomous turret. This system is equipped with sensors and AI to spot and engage incoming drones. The turret can be armed with M240, M2, M230, and M134 guns or lasers. “SOCOM to get robotic anti-drone turret for maritime platforms”, Defense One, September 26, 2025.
1st Cav and Switchblade 600. A tube-launched, unmanned aircraft system has already seen extensive use by Special Operations Forces, light infantry units, and foreign partners. The 1st Cavalry Division is one of the first armored units to field the system. Adopting the Switchblade is part of a push by the Army to integrate new technologies – especially drones and advanced communications. The Switchblade is about 5 feet long and weighs 75 pounds. It has a flight time of 40-45 minutes and a range up to 27 miles. “Army’s 1st Cavalry Division Conducts First Switchblade 600 Live-Fire Exercise”, DoD, September 29, 2025.
Small Engines for Drones. U.S. industrial firms are gearing up to be able to enter the competition for defense contracts providing small engines for the thousands and thousands of drones that the U.S. military will be buying in the future. The demand for propulsion engines for drones and missiles is going to be huge over the next 10 years. “Industry Races to Develop Small Engines for Drones, CCAs”, by Greg Hadley, Air and Space Forces Magazine, October 2, 2025.
Drones and the Ukraine – Russia Conflict
Report – Foreign Components in Russian Drones. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has issued a research paper that details how Russia is relying on foreign commercial parts for its drone manufacturing process. It does this despite international sanctions that are in place to prevent it from acquiring these vital drone components. The authors of the report have traced the international procurement routes of foreign components and discuss the failures of multilateral efforts to prevent such procurement. The paper concludes with a proposed framework for stronger end-use controls to address the weaknesses of the current technology-control regime. Tracking the Components of Missiles and UAVs by Russia in Ukraine: What Lessons for Control Regimes?, September 2025, PDF, 27 pages.
Mavic Drones in Russia-Ukraine War. Mavic drones were not designed for military use but their competitive price and ease of modification make them very popular. “The Evolution of Mavic drones in the Russia-Ukraine war”, Counteroffensive.pro, September 30, 2025. (subscription)
Ukraine Drone Boat Found by Turkish Fishermen. An explosive-packed sea drone was found 900 miles away in Turkey. The Magura V5 unmanned surface vessel (USV) was a floating bomb that went way off course. Its likely intended target was a surface ship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF). The War Zone, September 30, 2025.
Ukraine’s Interceptor Drones. The nightly onslaught of Russian attack drones on Ukrainian civilian and military targets continue – sometimes 500-600 drones a night. Ukraine is now mass-producing interceptor drones to counter the Russian Shahed and Gerbera drones. One such interceptor drone is called “The Sting”. It is bullet-shaped and costs about $2,000. The aim is for the country to put up over 1,000 interceptor drones a night to take down the Russian attack drones before they can hit their targets.
Ukrainian Drones for the U.S. The technological experience and production capacity of Ukraine to manufacture drones is leading to a possible deal where the country could provide millions of drones to the United States at some point in the future. “Ukraine Deep in Talks to Sell U.S. Millions of Drones”, The War Zone, October 2, 2025. See also “Trump’s Drone Deal With Ukraine to Give U.S. Access to Battlefield Tech”, The Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2025.
Drones Around the World
Report – Multilateral Policy on Autonomous Weapons Systems. Dr. Alexander Blanchard and Netta Goussac have authored a report that examines the possible directions for future policy on AWS. The report aims to inform policymakers with an overview of the next steps for policy efforts. September 2025, PDF, 41 pages.
Hitler’s ‘Flying Bomb’. Unmanned attack aircraft have been around for a long time. Zita Ballinger Fletcher explains in this article about the appearance of a strange new aircraft in England’s skies on June 13, 1944. This new “pilotless plane” had wings, a jet engine, and a warhead of explosives. The V-1 was cheap to make and easy to manufacture. It could cause a lot of damage and inflicted terror among the English population. The V-1 had a built-in barometric altimeter, magnetic compass, and rangefinder. The warhead had 1,800 pounds of explosives. Over 30,000 V-1s were built and 10,000 were targeted against London. Read more about the V-1 in “How Hitler’s fear-inducing ‘flying bomb’ ushered in drone warfare”, Military Times, September 26, 2025.
Europe Gray Zone Fight in the Skies. Numerous drone sightings across western Europe – suspected to be coming from Russia, Belarus, or ships at sea – are putting EU nations into the alert mode. Drones have appeared over military sites and have shut down airports. Europe is now entering into a new era – where drones are changing warfare on the battlefield but also as a method of ‘hybrid air denial’. The cheap drones are causing significant financial stress and havoc but are also providing plausible denial to the operators as they are unmanned commercial off-the-shelf variants. “Hybrid air denial: The new gray zone battlefield raging above Europe”, Defense News, October 2, 2025.
Europe’s Drone Wall. Russian drone incursions across Europe has prompted the European Union (EU) to construct a ‘drone wall’. This will entail a series or network of sensors, AI software, jammers, inexpensive missiles, hunter drones, and more. The Baltic States appear to be taking the lead in this initiative. “Inside Europe’s crash effort to create a drone wall”, Defense One, October 2, 2025.
Drones, Cartels, and West Africa. The Policy Center for the New South has published a 13-page paper on how the convergence of armed group drone warfare and cartel expansion in the Sahel is a global problem with direct consequences for the United States. Drone Warfare and Cartel Convergence in West Africa, September 2025.
https://www.policycenter.ma/publications/drone-warfare-and-cartel-convergence-west-africa-risks-american-safety-security-and
Best Defense: Lasers or Mobile Gun Trucks? Video on Which Technology offers the best defense against drones? Lasers or mobile gun trucks?”, DW News, YouTube, October 1, 2025, 17 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKYFqWiuFh0&t=102s
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Image. Quadrotor Drone Swarm by ChatGPT.
