With the fight evolving quickly, arms companies in Ukraine and Europe say that they can't afford to start from scratch and completely redesign entire systems each time conditions shift. Instead, companies making aerial drones and ground robots told Business Insider that their focus is now on creating weapons that can be upgraded by simply changing parts or software rather than overhauling the whole system. Designs are modular, like Lego pieces, with parts being easily swapped out as new mission demands arise.
Russia has begun using long-range, jam-proof drones controlled by fiber-optic cables to threaten Ukraine's logistics, a senior government official told Business Insider. Mykhailo Fedorov, the first deputy prime minister of Ukraine and its minister of digital transformation, said that Russia is now fielding fiber-optic drones with a range of 50 kilometers (31 miles), which appears to be the first official confirmation from Kyiv that Moscow is using these weapons in combat. That 50-kilometer range exceeds what most known fiber-optic drones can achieve on the battlefield.
A drone attack on Kyiv and appearance of a cluster of drones over Polish territory in September 2025 has highlighted the threat posed by the rapid advancement of autonomous and uncrewed aerial vehicles. Drones provide a unique advantage for the world's militaries. For one, they are cheap to make, have been deployed in major conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, and efforts to defend against them are in a constant state of development.
