Employment of FPV Drones in Russia-Ukraine War: Lessons and Future Outlook
Russia-Ukraine war can be characterized by the rapid and wide scale adaptation of newer military technology and tactics. Among the many new combat systems of this war, First-Person View (FPV) drones stand out as a transformative combat system. FPV drones are small high-speed drones which are piloted using a live feed from the drone’s onboard camera, offering a “drone’s-eye view,” unlike traditional drones controlled from the pilot’s ground perspective. FPV drones were used initially for battlefield intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). But with incorporation of explosive payload, FPV drones have now emerged as a threatening weapon system which can be employed at tactical scale with remarkable effects. FPV drones are now routinely used as kamikaze units to destroy military targets such as armored vehicles, artillery units, air-defense systems, logistical vehicles and even individual enemy troops. Beside offensive roles, FPVs and similar drones are also being as hit-to-kill interceptors for hitting and destroying hostile unmanned systems.
The sheer scale of drone production and deployment is unprecedented. Ukraine alone is reported to be manufacturing tens of thousands of drones per month. Combined with other manufacturers and foreign-sourced drones, Ukrainian forces are now deploying FPV drones on an industrial scale. Russia has also ramped up production. Russian forces, according to Moscow, are producing as many as 4,000 FPV drones per day, surpassing Ukraine in drone productivity. This rapid proliferation highlights the significance of drones in the current conflict and their important role as a force equalizer in asymmetric warfare.
The global commercial drone market, dominated by China, has played a pivotal role in the proliferation of FPV drones. Chinese manufacturers provide the components and technologies that underpin most commercial and military drones. During the early stages of the Ukraine war, Russia and Ukraine both relied heavily on Chinese components to build their drone fleets. Recent Chinese export restrictions on certain drone technologies have disproportionately affected Ukraine, which lacks the domestic industrial base to produce drones at scale. Russia, by contrast, has been better able to adapt, leveraging its industrial capacity to manufacture drones from imported subcomponents. This disparity highlights the strategic importance of domestic drone production capabilities in modern warfare.