KSE Institute has released a report examining how Ukraine has changed the nature of modern warfare through the development of its own unmanned systems — and how this experience can enhance U.S. military capabilities and promote deeper cooperation between the two states.

Today, around 80-85% of all frontline strikes are carried out by drones. At the same time, the cost of destroying a single target with a drone is several times lower than when using artillery shells or missiles, and the development and testing cycle for new systems has shortened to just a few weeks. Such flexibility makes the Ukrainian model one of the most effective in the world. The current potential of domestic producers is estimated at about 10 million drones per year. Unmanned systems have evolved from auxiliary tools into one of the key elements of contemporary combat operations.

The KSE Institute study highlights several technological domains that will ensure the further development of drones: communications that remain stable even under heavy electronic warfare; navigation that functions without GPS thanks to inertial systems and AI-based optical terrain recognition; autonomy, allowing platforms to independently detect and engage targets; and integration — the synchronized operation of different drone types with each other and with other weapons and systems.

The report includes a comprehensive overview of all major drone types and provides insight into their development path and current priority focus areas for further advancement:

• FPV drones – first-person-view UAVs for precision strikes at close range; they account for up to 50% of all hits on the front line.

• Multicopter bombers – heavy drones capable of carrying up to 15 kg of payload per sortie; used for attacks, mining, cargo delivery, and other logistical purposes.

• Middle-strike drones – strike systems that hit targets up to 200 km behind enemy lines.

• Deep-strike drones – long-range systems with a strike radius of up to 2,000 km, capable of strategic attacks on infrastructure.

• Interceptor drones – UAVs designed to destroy enemy reconnaissance and attack drones, including Shaheds.

• Reconnaissance drones – used for continuous monitoring of the front line, artillery adjustment, other drones, and intelligence gathering.

• Unmanned ground vehicles – robotic systems for logistics, assault missions, mining/demining, and evacuation; capable of delivering tens of tons of cargo weekly.

• Maritime drones – surface and subsurface platforms that have significantly changed the balance of power in the Black Sea’s maritime and aerial domains.

Each drone type has evolved into a modular platform that can be quickly adapted to multiple tasks. For instance, Ukrainian unmanned surface vessels can not only strike naval targets but also engage ground or aerial ones, transport strike drones, or carry air-to-air missiles — dramatically expanding their operational range.

The report devotes special attention to the prospects for co-production between Ukraine and the United States. Ukraine has moved from being a recipient of military assistance to an innovator capable of scaling battlefield-tested technologies. Joint production could combine Ukrainian design expertise and combat experience with U.S. industrial capacity, logistics, and financing, creating the foundation for a mutually beneficial partnership.

This approach would provide Ukraine with predictable financing, deeper economic integration with Western partners, and secure production chains, while NATO countries would gain access to solutions competitive with Russian and Chinese production models.

KSE Institute concludes: combining Ukraine’s frontline innovation with the industrial, financial, and logistical capabilities of the United States could form the basis of a new model of defense cooperation — one that provides allies with a technological edge in the wars of the future.