Ukraine uses drone innovation to help level battlefield in war with Russia - CBS News
AI Analysis
Ukraine is leveraging innovative drone technologies, including aerial and sea drones, to counter Russian forces effectively. These drones, such as the Sea Baby, have been instrumental in inflicting significant damage on Russian naval assets at a fraction of the cost.
Key Takeaways
- Ukraine's use of drones is causing around 80% of combat casualties in the conflict.
- The battlefield has expanded into a 'kill zone' where drones play a critical role in targeting.
- Ukrainian sea drones, like the Sea Baby, have successfully destroyed or disabled 11 Russian warships.
- Drones are being launched with fiber-optic wires to evade electronic jamming.
- Oleksandr Kamyshin, a key figure in Ukraine's drone program, emphasizes the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of drones.
Why It Matters
The strategic use of drones by Ukraine demonstrates a shift in modern warfare tactics, emphasizing cost-effective and efficient solutions over traditional military assets. This innovation not only levels the playing field against a larger adversary but also provides valuable lessons for other nations, including the U.S., in adapting to new warfare technologies.
Ukraine uses drone innovation to help level battlefield in war with Russia - CBS News
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When America went to war with Iran last month, the U.S. military faced an enemy using mass-produced drones to deadly effect.
The same weapons have been used for years in Ukraine - some of them supplied by Iran to Russia. Unmanned and remotely-controlled, drones have transformed the Ukrainian battlefield. They're estimated to inflict around 80% of combat casualties on both sides.
The technology is nothing short of revolutionary - and it's evolving rapidly. As we discovered, to adapt to the new era, the U.S. military is learning lessons from Ukraine.
Forget everything you think you know about warfare. The traditional front line in Ukraine has expanded to a roughly 10-mile-wide strip called the kill zone. Anyone who sets foot there can be spotted by a drone operator - and hunted down. This was a narrow escape for some Ukrainian soldiers. They call these Frankenstein Tanks - retrofitted with cages and mesh to deflect drone strikes. Netting covers roads close to the front - designed to catch them before they hit their target. To evade interference from electronic jammers, both militaries launch drones attached to miles-long spools of fiber-optic wire - leaving behind a digital spider's web.
But the drones are not just in the air.
Holly Williams: Continuously innovating
Scout: Yes
Beside a frozen lake, Ukraine's security service took us to see one of their most treasured weapons.
Holly Williams: It looks a bit like a fishing boat, Scout. That's an outboard motor?
Scout: Yeah, yeah.
Ukraine's security service took Holly Williams to see one of their most treasured weapons 60 Minutes
It's a sea drone, developed in Ukraine, called Sea Baby. We're protecting this operator's identity because he's a target for Russian assassination.
Holly Williams: What's the payload on this?
Scout: It currently will take 2000 kilograms.
Holly Williams: 2000 kilos of explosives. Is that enough to take out a Russian warship?
Scout: Yes.
Produced for around $300,000, Ukrainian sea drones have destroyed warships that cost tens of millions. Ukraine says it's used them to sink or disable 11 Russian vessels.
Holly Williams: Which one is more useful: a warship, or a sea drone like the Sea Baby?
Scout: Sea drone, I think. It's really hard to destroy these drones because they are smaller. That's why to have like ten ships like this is much better than having one big one.
Holly Williams: Wow. To be clear, you're saying you'd rather have ten sea drones than a warship.
Scout: Yeah.
Oleksandr Kamyshin: Necessity is the mother of invention.
Oleksandr Kamyshin started out the war as the CEO of Ukraine's railways. He was so good at his job - helping millions of Ukrainians to evacuate - that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recruited him to become the architect of Ukraine's drone program.
Oleksandr Kamyshin: Cheap, fast, efficient.
Kamyshin told us he helped