Ukraine’s Battlefield Drone Innovations are Influencing Europe’s Militaries

As the world order continues to take a new shape, Europe has realized it no longer has the luxury of relying solely on the United States for protection. As a result, European countries are moving quickly to help build out Ukraine’s defense industry to also strengthen Europe’s own security for the future. At the center of this shift is Ukraine’s battlefield drone innovations—including its ability to produce them cheaply at scale, which is now reshaping how Europe prepares for a future confrontation with Russia.

Facing uncertainty over U.S. support, Ukraine has focused on expanding its domestically produced drone program, aiming to compensate for potential gaps in Western arms shipments by building a network of drone regiments along the front. Across Ukraine, volunteers and small workshops are fueling a grassroots drone-building movement that supplies frontline troops with cheap, highly effective First-Person View (FPV) attack drones.

Strategic Agility or Abundance?

The strategy of employing cheap drone mass, already credited with stalling Russia’s winter offensive, focuses on saturating Russian lines with low-cost, high-impact drones to limit Russian advances while preserving Ukraine’s soldiers. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief, speaking at the Ukraine–United Kingdom Defense Technology Forum organized by RUSI, stated that a 10–15 kilometer-wide “zone of continuous death” has formed ahead of the front line – and that this deadly zone is steadily expanding, along with the likelihood of destruction within it.

As Ukraine’s battlefield innovations outpace traditional U.S. defense contractors, American companies and Silicon Valley are increasingly turning to Ukrainian drone makers for their frontline expertise, recognizing that “no U.S. company is keeping up with Ukraine.” Zaluzhnyi added that “Victory on the battlefield now depends entirely on the ability to outpace the enemy in technological development.”

Ukraine in turn, is building a massive drone arsenal on a budget. Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi noted that Ukrainian drones struck and destroyed more than 83,000 Russian targets in April, which was almost a 10% increase from March. Likewise, in November 2024, U.S. Army Chief Gen. Randy George, said, “Ukraine has demonstrated the value of small, attritable drones on the battlefield.”

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian drone operations continue to play a critical role in holding off Russian advances, driving a shift toward long-range, remote warfare, with the gray zone now stretching five to seven kilometers deep in parts of the front. Even Russian state media was forced to admit their forces in Donetsk are facing “massive attacks by Ukrainian drones.”

The ISW also noted that Russian advances between January and April 2025 were 45% slower than in late 2024, while casualty rates dropped by only 10%. Russian leadership continues to accept heavy losses for very limited returns on the battlefield as they struggle against Ukraine’s drone wall.

As Andrii, a drone pilot in Ukraine’s 109th Territorial Defense Brigade, told me, modern warfare now demands rapid tactical shifts and the near-immediate deployment of new technologies, often moving straight from blueprint to battlefield to seize the advantage.

Domains Matter—Ukraine’s Drone Innovations on Land and at Sea

The tactical shift is clear on the battlefield across both the land and maritime domains. “Every day we face 5 to 8 assaults, specifically by motorcycle troops. We haven’t seen any vehicles in a long time, because drones make it easier to hit them, and there’s less chance of triggering a mine,” said Ihor, a drone pilot from the 23rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

Yaroslav, a drone pilot from the 110th Mechanized Brigade, told me that “drones play a very big role on the battlefield, more than anything else.” Both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war are rushing to build millions of drones per year. Drones worth several hundred dollars are knocking out tanks worth millions. These cheap drones can halt entire offensives. The battlefield, as a result, has become the era of the cautious tank.

Zaluzhnyi echoed this, warning that “Armored vehicles, which have been the basis of offensive operations since 1915, have become defenseless against cheap drones, and therefore, their use in other types of combat is impossible today.”

At sea, despite lacking a formal navy, Ukraine created a “tech navy” using sea drones that forced Russia’s Black Sea fleet to retreat from occupied Crimea. “Prior to the war, Russia was seen as the controlling maritime power in the Black Sea,” said Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher with the Center for Naval Analyses think tank. “This is no longer the case, and sea control is now contested and will remain so for the foreseeable future. This obviously shows that Russia is not as strong in the region as previously perceived.”

These drones have since been used to shoot down Russian helicopters and, most recently, destroyed two Russian fighter jets. Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general officer wrote, “This is a significant achievement. Following on from the downing of helicopters from similar uncrewed naval vessels late last year, this steps up the capability offered by such platforms.”

Ukrainian drone innovations like the Sea Baby and Magura V5 have significantly expanded Kyiv’s naval capabilities. These sea drones have destroyed warships, helicopters, and, most recently, destroyed two Russian fighter jets. The sea drones have also served as drone carriers, launching aerial kamikaze drones. Ryan noted, “We should expect that the employment of drone carriers will become more common in the ground, sea and air domains.”

“Ukraine has clearly assigned talented and visionary people to the development of its remarkable sea drone fleet that drove the Russian navy to the eastern Black Sea and opened the grain shipments from Odesa,” said Roy Gardiner, an open-source weapons researcher and former Canadian Armed Forces officer.

“There is every expectation that Ukraine will lead the world in building autonomous sea drones, especially as access to Elon Musk’s Starlink system for navigation and control can no longer be trusted,” said Gardiner.

Priming Ukraine’s Drone Innovation-Production Cycle

This constant need for rapid adaptation also drives Ukraine’s own defense innovation. Kateryna Bezsudna, CEO of a Ukrainian defense tech startup accelerator, said their products must be operational within six months, the average window before Russia introduces a new weapon in order to maintain an asymmetric advantage.

“I always tell our American and other international partners: if your drone hasn’t been tested in Ukraine, it’s still just a toy,” said Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian member of parliament from the Holos party.

“Sure, it might have worked in Afghanistan against fighters in flip-flops who had no idea what electronic warfare was. But testing a drone or EW system against a regular, well-equipped army like Russia’s? That’s a different level entirely.”

Ustinova further added that Western partners shouldn’t wait, as Ukraine is developing the battlefield technologies of the future under the most demanding conditions. “So why wait? Partner with us now. Be part of developing the next generation of military technology, which is already proving itself in the most demanding combat environment on Earth.”Justin Zeefe, co-founder of Green Flag Ventures (GFV), a venture capital fund for local startups, said, “Ukrainian engineers and entrepreneurs, tested by wartime necessity, are demonstrating exceptional capability and resilience.”

With expanded European investment, Ukraine now produces about 40% of its military equipment domestically. “The Ukrainian army is the most credible security guarantee for Europe’s security,” said Esra Serim, an Associate Researcher at the University of Bordeaux. She also emphasized that Ukraine’s military could serve as the backbone of a future European Union army.

Despite dwindling American aid and ongoing Russian attacks, Ukraine’s confidence has grown thanks to its booming domestic defense industry, which has scaled from $1 billion with the potential of reaching an overall capacity of $35 billion in 2025, driven largely by drones and missiles.

The Economist argued that Europe should directly purchase arms from Ukrainian companies and invest in joint ventures to bolster Ukraine’s production capacity, strengthen European security, and offset the potential decline of U.S. support. “By aiding Ukraine they are helping themselves. Ukraine’s security is unalienable from that of Europe,” said Volodymyr Dubovyk, Director of the Center for International Studies at Odesa Mechnykov National University.

Private investors across the West have also taken note. In 2024, investment in Ukrainian defense technologies surged by 900% compared to the previous year, but more capital is urgently needed. Ukraine has the capacity to now produce 5 million drones per year. Zeefe added, “The landscape is abundant with opportunity,  far exceeding GFV’s capacity to invest. But there is not currently enough capital from international sources specifically focused on Ukrainian innovation.”

Branislav Slantchev, a professor of political science at UC San Diego, pointed out Ukraine’s unmatched battlefield experience: “Ukraine offers experience – it’s the only European army that has it, especially for the kind of war that involves Russia.” He highlighted that Ukraine also has tremendous innovation in new tactics and strategies such as with drones and using existing ones like with the Patriot system.

Is Europe Capitalizing Enough on Ukraine’s Drone Innovation?

Ukraine’s experience with drones demonstrates that adaptation remains essential – so how is Europe taking advantage of Ukraine’s pioneering efforts? Denmark plans to send soldiers to Ukraine this summer to study Ukraine’s rapid innovations in drone warfare – advances that now account for around 70-80% of Russian casualties. Inspired by Ukraine’s success, several European countries, including Estonia, Denmark, Finland, and Britain, are building drone training and testing centers to prepare their militaries for modern warfare.

Ukraine has also sent instructors to the UK to share frontline expertise, as European forces race to adapt to challenges like enemy jamming and the integration of unmanned systems into their operations. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also recently announced a large boost in defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, citing lessons from Ukraine’s evolving war. “Drones and autonomous systems are reshaping the front lines. It’s why we must strengthen our defenses,” he said.

The UK recently unveiled its new StormShroud autonomous drone, designed to support Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets by jamming enemy radars, which was shaped by lessons from Ukraine. In Germany, the startup Stark has developed the Virtus loitering munition, an AI-powered, electric VTOL drone capable of high-speed strikes up to 155 mph, autonomous targeting, and operation in communication-denied environments. Both of these developments reflect how Ukraine is influencing next-generation drone warfare across Europe.

“Whether you want to believe it or not, whether you have or are about to sign contracts for tanks and helicopters for the next 10 years, the nature of military power has already changed,” said Zaluzhnyi. Germany appears to be acting on that reality, pushing forward with an ambitious initiative to transform European defenses.

Germany is currently working on plans to build a “drone wall” along NATO’s eastern border to deter future Russian aggression, using hundreds or even thousands of drones as a surveillance and early warning system. It’s a strategy that reflects how drone warfare increasingly favors defense over offense.

Ukraine’s frontline experience has made it clear: in future high-tech wars, the winner will be the one who adapts to the technological conditions of the battlefield faster than the enemy. Ukraine’s leadership is pursuing a “robots first” military strategy, showing the world what the future of warfare looks like. Now, after years of resisting what was once seen as the world’s second-strongest military, it is Ukraine that is now imparting battlefield lessons, and Europe is finally listening.