Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Is a Roadmap for the US

“We learn, innovate, and adapt faster by pairing our human ingenuity and judgment with advanced technologies like autonomy and artificial intelligence,” stated a new guide for the U.S. Army that was published in August.

This is exactly the playbook Ukraine has followed over the last four years.

National security analysts have been astonished by how this country the size of Texas has fought back the behemoth of the Russian Federation (almost twice the size of the U.S) and Vladimir Putin’s massive army.

Necessity breeds innovation. Ukraine adapted by identifying emerging threats, developing a defense ecosystem, manufacturing at scale, and deploying it to the front. Ukraine turned to manufacturing and developing the drone capabilities domestically, rather than relying on China, a Russian ally. 

Now, Ukraine’s drone attacks are reaching deeper into Russia and hitting key arms production facilities, oil refiners, chemical plants, and recently a semiconductor plant. These high-value targets are wreaking havoc on Russia’s economy, including causing fuel shortages and power outages. Putin has had to divert resources to protecting Russian supply lines and infrastructure.

This scrappy and agile underdog military effort by Ukraine is a model of invention, innovation, and modernization. It is enabling the nation to not only hold its own but also now turn the tide of the war. More importantly for Americans, it is providing a roadmap for new weapons technology that will aid the United States in the current war with Iran and potential future conflicts.

In April and May, U.S. and Ukrainian forces participated in a friendly joint military exercise, “Combined Resolve,” to test each country’s capabilities. U.S. forces lost. Ukraine used its drones to repeatedly detect and neutralize American troops and armored vehicles that had electronic warfare and counter-drone technology.

In July, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a bilateral defense partnership that combines America’s manufacturing capabilities with Ukraine’s unprecedented drone technology. This partnership means that Ukrainian combat drones will be exported to the U.S. for military testing. It also establishes a framework for future drone cooperation between the two countries.  

The U.S.’s access to rapidly evolving, low-cost drone technologies utilized in combat conditions is essential to the Pentagon needs of unmanned weapons. 

As the alliance between the new axis of evil—Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran—becomes more evident, our partnership with Ukraine is increasingly critical to our own national security.

China and North Korea support Russia in its Ukraine invasion, sending munitions and soldiers. Iran designed and provided to Russia hundreds of the Shahed-type drones that Putin copied and deployed to target Ukrainian civilians early in the war. Now, as NBC reported, Russia is shipping drone components, ammunition, and military supplies to Iran through the Caspian Sea to help the terrorist regime battle the U.S. 

Ukraine is not alone in being menaced by Russia. Putin is threatening Britain for supporting and helping Ukraine with their drone technology. “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which ⁠it will have to answer,” the Russian embassy in London said in a statement. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham responded to Putin’s bullying tactic by pledging 100% support for Ukraine.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has stalled, other NATO countries believe they are threatened. On August 4, a Russian drone attacked a German commercial airport. The Trump Administration recently dispatched Central Intelligence Agency Director John Radcliffe to Moscow, reportedly to warn Russia not to attack any NATO countries. 

The Ukrainians, meanwhile, have attempted to work more closely with the U.S. and European allies in order to strengthen the Ukrainians’ defense capabilities—while showcasing the drone technology that the U.S. helped them build through its aid and delivery of other weapons throughout the war. This is what supporting an ally looks like. 

Today, we are engaged in a global conflict against adversaries with the common purpose to eliminate America’s leadership in world affairs. The U.S. is blessed by many allies who share common interests with us. I met with their ambassadors consistently while serving as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.  

Some in America who claim to be conservatives assist our adversaries by advocating a neo-isolationist pullback from American leadership. This mindset should be rejected by conservatives everywhere. In this world struggle, fighting alone without allies may lead to defeat. 

As global alliances become more evident, it is time for the U.S. to double down in its support of Ukraine, a nation that has learned, innovated, and adapted in this war—and has thereby benefitted the U.S.

A Ukrainian victory now in the face of Russia’s aggression is our best chance of preventing a truly global conflict with an uncertain outcome.

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