The attacks are carried out mainly at night. Most of them will be shot down. Only 10% will reach the target. Some drones are even shot down en route by friendly fire, Ukrainian air defenses.
Ukraine had to find a way to counter Russian electronic jamming. Terminal Autonomy’s Scythe drone uses visual positioning, meaning it navigates and surveys the terrain using artificial intelligence. There is no pilot involved.
Palantir software may already have mapped out the best path forward. Mr. Serra-Martins says flying a lot of drones is key to overwhelming and depleting Russian air defenses. It’s also about making them cheaper than the missiles that are trying to shoot them down or the targets they’re trying to hit.
Professor Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute said Ukraine's long-range drone strikes pose a dilemma for Moscow: Russia has a lot of air defenses, but they still can't protect everything.
Professor Bronk said the long-range strikes in Ukraine were showing ordinary Russians “that their country is not fully defendable and that Russia is vulnerable.”
The Ukrainian drones were spotted more than 1,000 km (620 miles) inside Russia. They were shot down over Moscow.
But the focus is on military installations. The map below highlights just a few of the 12 targets that have been hit in the past few months, including five Russian air force bases.
