THE drones Made in the USA sent to Ukraine to support Kiev’s forces against Russia? They would have failed to meet the expectations of the Ukrainian authorities. Even forced to reevaluate the options available to them and turn to alternatives made in China. It seems, in fact, that most of the small UAVs developed by American companies have been found to be enormous difficulty in resisting military scenarios encountered in Eastern Europe. The Pentagon, which needs to be able to count on a reliable supply of thousands of small drones to be used for various purposes, would therefore now be called upon to solve a significant problem.
US drones in Ukraine
The Wall Street Journal said that the company Skydio from the Silicon Valley has sent hundreds of its best drones to Ukraine to help Kiev fight the Russians. It’s a shame, however, that things didn’t go as smoothly as possible. The UAVs in question, in fact, would have been easily neutralized by the electronic warfare Russian, forcing the American company to build a new fleet of unmanned aircraft. In general, however, almost all of the vehicles created by US startups would have disappointed the companies, which expected very different performances (also from a commercial perspective).
Drones made in America tend to be expensive, defective And difficult to repair, they cut short the Ukrainians on the front line. Who, in the absence of solutions from the West, have been forced to rely on cheaper Chinese products to strengthen their defenses. “The general reputation of each class of US drones in Ukraine is that they do not work as well as other systems“said the CEO of Skydio, Adam Bry, defining the drone produced by his company “a not very successful platform at the forefront“.
And to think that record investments had been recorded in the last two years (approx 2.5 billion dollars) in startups eager to build small, AI-powered planes, hoping to sell them to the U.S. government after “testing” them in Ukraine. The companies in question had focused on commercial drones that could be built more quickly and cheaply, and expected them to shine in the midst of the war between Kiev and Moscow. This, evidently, was not the case.
The Pentagon’s concern
Money in smoke? More or less, at least judging by the feedback from the Ukrainians who used those drones. Kiev officials found that UAVs made in the USA they are fragile and incapable of overcoming Russian electronic disturbances. Sometimes they failed to take off, complete missions or turn back once airborne. For their part, American producers defended themselves by explaining that they had not foreseen such a heavy impact of electronic warfare in the Ukrainian scenario.
Ukraine then found a way to obtain tens of thousands of drones and spare parts from China. The army uses standardized Chinese UAVs, mainly from SZ DJI Technology. At the same time Kiev also developed anational industry of unmanned aerial vehicles that is based on components made in China. Ukrainian factories produce hundreds of thousands of small, cheap drones that can carry explosives. It also makes larger drones that can strike deep into enemy territory and reach Russian ships on the Black Sea.
In all this the Ukrainian forces are burning approximately 10,000 drones per month, something they could not afford to do if they were to purchase US UAVs. In fact, many American commercial drones cost tens of thousands of dollars more each than a Chinese model.
The Pentagon, presumably concerned about such developments, will surely have taken note of what is happening in Ukraine.
Tags: revelation Chinese drones war Ukraine
