Tens of thousands of newly-purchased Ukrainian FPV drones will be "deployed along all the front line," Ukraine's drone tsar, Mykhailo Fedorov, told Newsweek.
I’d also add that, speaking from an American standpoint, my understanding from past reading is that the dual-purpose nature of small civilian/military drones has been something of a concern in the US. China dominates the small civilian drone market, and this is something that could have useful military applications. In a war, both expertise and production facilities for use at scale would be present in China. If mass drone production capacity is militarily-important, that’d be something to pay attention to.
And there are people who also argue the other way, that drones aren’t going to be that useful and receive undue emphasis. I’m not sure that I agree with that position, but I will agree to the extent that drones are not a mature technology and we don’t yet know how things will play out as drones and counter-drone systems (not to mention counter-counter-drone systems) evolve.
I’d also add that, speaking from an American standpoint, my understanding from past reading is that the dual-purpose nature of small civilian/military drones has been something of a concern in the US. China dominates the small civilian drone market, and this is something that could have useful military applications. In a war, both expertise and production facilities for use at scale would be present in China. If mass drone production capacity is militarily-important, that’d be something to pay attention to.
And there are people who also argue the other way, that drones aren’t going to be that useful and receive undue emphasis. I’m not sure that I agree with that position, but I will agree to the extent that drones are not a mature technology and we don’t yet know how things will play out as drones and counter-drone systems (not to mention counter-counter-drone systems) evolve.