The sky over eastern Ukraine isn't empty anymore. If you stand in a trench near Bakhmut or Vovchansk, you don't just hear the dull thud of artillery. You hear the "buzz." It’s a high-pitched, weed-wacker whine that makes grown men dive into the dirt. That sound usually means Russian drones in Ukraine have spotted something, and in this war, being seen is basically the same as being dead.
It's weird. We used to think of high-tech warfare as stealth bombers and billion-dollar satellites. Honestly, that’s not what’s happening. Instead, the Kremlin is flooding the zone with stuff that looks like it was bought off a hobbyist website, and it's working better than anyone expected.
The Orlan-10: Russia’s Ugly, Effective Workhorse
The Orlan-10 is honestly kind of a mess if you look at it up close. When Ukrainian techs first started tearing these things apart back in 2022, they found something hilarious: a handheld Canon DSLR camera velcroed to the inside of the frame. The fuel tank cap was literally a plastic water bottle lid.
But don't laugh too hard.
This clunky, propeller-driven tube is the reason Russian artillery is so terrifyingly accurate. It doesn't need to be fancy. It just needs to fly at 5,000 feet and send coordinates back to a battery of Msta-S howitzers. Because it uses such basic components, Russia can churn them out by the thousands. While the West builds "exquisite" tech that costs millions, Russia is focused on "good enough" mass production.
The Orlan works in "swarms," though not the sci-fi kind you're thinking of. Usually, one flies low to draw fire or jam signals, a second flies higher for reconnaissance, and a third sits way back to act as a signal relay. It’s a simple, layered system that keeps the Russian "reconnaissance-fire complex" humming.
Lancet: The Kamikaze That Changed the Rules
If the Orlan is the eyes, the Lancet is the fist. Produced by ZALA Aero Group (a subsidiary of Kalashnikov), the Lancet loitering munition has become the single biggest headache for Ukrainian tank commanders and Western donors.
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It’s an X-wing suicide drone.
It doesn't just drop a bomb; it is the bomb.
Early in the war, the Lancet-1 was a bit of a joke. Small payload, shaky guidance. But the Lancet-3? That thing is a predator. It has a thermal seeker and, more importantly, a sophisticated autonomous tracking system. Once the operator locks onto a Leopard 2 tank or an Archer self-propelled gun, the drone does the rest. Even if the Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) teams jam the radio link, the drone’s onboard AI can sometimes finish the dive on its own.
You’ve probably seen the footage. Grainy, black-and-white video. A crosshair over a multi-million dollar air defense system. Then, static. That static is the moment of impact. It’s a $35,000 drone killing a $10 million IRIS-T radar. The math just doesn't favor the defender.
Why EW is the Real Front Line
Every day, the "radio war" shifts.
Ukrainian soldiers will tell you that a drone frequency that worked yesterday is useless today. Russian drones in Ukraine are constantly hopping between frequencies to dodge "jammers."
Russia has a historical advantage here. Their electronic warfare units, like the Pole-21 or the Krasukha-4, are designed to create "domes" of interference. This forces Ukrainian FPV (First Person View) pilots to fly almost blind. But the Russians are struggling, too. Friendly fire in the electromagnetic spectrum is a huge problem. Russian jammers often knock their own drones out of the sky because the coordination between units is, frankly, pretty chaotic.
The Shahed Factor: Iran’s Lethal Gift
We can’t talk about this without mentioning the "mopeds." That’s what Ukrainians call the Geran-2, which is really just an Iranian Shahed-136 rebranded with Russian stickers.
They are loud. They are slow. They are built out of lawnmower engines and cheap plywood.
But they are a strategic nightmare.
When Russia launches a wave of 50 Shaheds at Kyiv, they aren't necessarily trying to hit a specific building. They are trying to drain Ukraine’s supply of expensive air defense missiles. If you use a $2 million Patriot missile to shoot down a $20,000 Shahed, you are losing the war of attrition. Russia is basically using these drones as "kinetic decoys" to pave the way for their more expensive cruise missiles.
The Alabuga "Student" Factory
There’s a darker side to the production. In the Tatarstan region of Russia, there’s a place called the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. Reports from investigative outlets like Protocol and Eurasia Daily have highlighted how Russia is scaling up Shahed production on its own soil.
They aren't just using skilled engineers.
They are reportedly using students from local polytechnic colleges and even exploited labor from foreign nationals to assemble these drones. It’s a factory-line approach to modern war. They want to reach a point where they can produce 6,000 of these drones a year. If they hit those numbers, the pressure on Ukrainian cities will be constant, 24/7, for years.
What Most People Get Wrong About Drone Tech
There is a massive misconception that the side with the "best" tech wins.
In the world of Russian drones in Ukraine, the side with the "most" tech wins.
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Russia has realized that a drone doesn't need to survive 100 missions. It only needs to survive one. This "disposable" philosophy is hard for Western defense contractors to wrap their heads around. We build for durability and pilot safety. Russia builds for the "burn rate."
Another thing? The "DIY" aspect. While the big drones like the Orion (Russia’s version of the Reaper) haven't done much because they get shot down instantly, the tiny FPV drones have taken over. Russian volunteer groups are 3D-printing tail fins and trigger mechanisms in basements in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They are strapping PG-7V anti-tank grenades to hobbyist racing drones and flying them into open hatches of armored vehicles.
Actionable Insights for Following the Conflict
If you’re trying to keep track of how this tech evolves, you have to look past the flashy headlines. The drone war changes every few weeks, not every few years.
- Watch the Frequencies: If you see reports of new Ukrainian "EW backpacks," expect a Russian counter-move within a month. The cat-and-mouse game is the most important metric of success.
- Follow the Supply Chain: Most of these drones still rely on Western microchips. Organizations like Conflict Armament Research track where these parts come from. If the sanctions tighten on "dual-use" components like GPS modules and flight controllers, Russian production takes a massive hit.
- The "Mother Drone" Concept: Keep an eye on reports of larger Russian drones carrying smaller ones. This "carrier" tactic is the next evolution, allowing short-range FPV drones to strike deep behind Ukrainian lines where soldiers think they are safe.
- Identify the Models: Learn to spot the difference between an Orlan, a Zala, and a Supercam. They serve different roles. If you see more Zalas, it means Russia is focusing on precision strikes. More Orlans means they are prepping for a massive artillery push.
The reality is that Russia has turned its drone program into a brutal, industrial process. It isn't always pretty, and it definitely isn't high-end, but it has turned the sky into a permanent surveillance zone. For the soldiers on the ground, that means the "buzz" is the most dangerous sound in the world.
To understand the next phase of the war, watch the assembly lines in Alabuga and the tiny 3D-printing shops across Russia. That is where the real pressure is being built.