The Ukraine conflict has seen the widespread use of small expandable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance, as well as for dropping small explosives and serving as loitering munitions. However, the United States-made drones sent to Kiev are proving ineffective and performing at an unsatisfactory rate.

“The general reputation for every class of US drone in Ukraine is that they don’t work as well as other systems,” Adam Bry, CEO of drone maker Skydio, told the Wall Street Journal according to a report by RT. He admitted his own company’s products are “not a very successful platform on the front lines.”

The war between Russia and Ukraine has seen the widespread use of small expandable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance, as well as for dropping small explosives and serving as loitering munitions. Because the U.S.-made products are ineffective, Kiev has had to rely on Chinese models instead.

Even some of the drones that the Pentagon has deemed fit for American soldiers have not fared well in the conflict, according to the report. The list of problematic weapons mentioned by the WSJ included AeroVironment Switchblade 300 loitering munitions, Velos Rotors V3 helicopter drones, and UAVs made by Cyberlux.

Ukrainian troops are burning through some 10,000 small drones a month, the report added. Many of them are off-the-shelf models produced by Chinese manufacturer SZ DJI Technology or are assembled from Chinese components on Ukrainian soil. -RT

The Chinese firm, which has been banned from US military use for supposedly posing a national security risk to the ruling class, told the newspaper that it “absolutely deplores and condemns the use of its products to cause harm anywhere in the world.”

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Current estimates are that Russia makes over 40,000 unmanned aerial vehicles every month, and has ramped up production since the start of the conflict with Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu reported last November that the country was supplying 16 times more drones compared to January 2023.

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