A new 'army of drones' is taking the war to the heart of Russia as Ukrainian forces launch drone strikes on Moscow and Russian territorial waters.
A Ukrainian solider carries a reconnaissance drone over his shoulder.Ukraine is training thousands of drone pilots and ramping up its production of unmanned aircraft to bring an "army of drones" to the frontlines of its counteroffensive against Russia, Ukrainian military officials and manufacturers told ABC News in rare interviews on the secretive program.
Kovalchuk embodies the entrepreneurial spirit driving this quiet revolution. In one year, he says he's gone from making just three drones a month to making 150. Skyeton is one of the most advanced manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Its Raybird reconnaissance drone costs over $1 million and can fly for more than 30 hours at an altitude of over 16,000 feet, relaying real-time high-quality images of enemy positions deep into Russian territory.
"[The] era of manned aircraft, in terms of Air Force, completely ended with this war," Stepura said. "This war showed that to have the person inside of the flying bird, no reason to do that, no sense. The pilot doesn't have time to think, never. Just milliseconds. And any machine will do that better than people…and faster and more accurately."
When asked about the psychological impact of the ability to strike inside Moscow or in Russian territorial waters, the developer said, "It's very important for us. We showed them that two can play this game. It's very important to make Russians know that we also have weapons. We also can attack them.
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