The Perennial Hornet is a ~$5,000 AI-guided one-way strike drone from Eric Schmidt's Perennial Autonomy — an optically navigated fixed-wing aircraft Ukrainian units use to burn Russian supply trucks 50-150 km behind the front, the workhorse of Kyiv's "logistics lockdown" campaign.
The Shahed-101 is Iran's small one-way-attack drone — the quiet, catapult-launched progenitor of the Shahed-107, used by Hezbollah and Iraqi militias since 2021, confirmed in Ukraine from late 2025 (all-Iranian parts), and refielded in an electric, near-silent variant for Iran's 2026 Gulf strikes.
Merops is the Ukraine-proven interceptor drone the US Army bought ~13,000 of — an Eric Schmidt-funded, AI-guided fixed-wing drone that homes on Shaheds when jammed, rams them for ~$15,000 a shot, and recovers by parachute if it misses. The interceptor economy crossing the Atlantic.
The MIM-23 Hawk is the 1950s US medium-range SAM the Pentagon retired in the 1990s — and pulled back from the grave for Ukraine. Spanish launchers, US-refurbished missiles and Taiwanese stocks now down Shaheds and cruise missiles by the score, proof that cheap depth beats exquisite scarcity.
VAMPIRE is L3Harris's bolt-on counter-drone kit — a four-round laser-guided rocket launcher and sensor that turns any pickup into a Shahed-killer for about $25,000 a shot. Fielded in Ukraine since 2023, it downed its first Shahed that December; the US Army bought in for up to $106M in 2026.
The Chernika-2 ("Blueberry") is Russia's foam flying-wing strike drone — 3.5 kg warhead, 100 km reach, ~$10k all-in, with Russian-claimed machine-vision navigation that flies under jamming. Over 11,000 claimed built; hitting Kharkiv since June 2025.
The Shahed-107 is Iran's mid-range strike drone reportedly built for Russia's war — announced as a 1,500 km HIMARS hunter, revealed by Ukrainian teardown as a ~300 km, 15 kg-warhead X-tail drone hitting the near rear. The gap between those two descriptions is the story.
The S8000 Banderol is Russia's AliExpress cruise missile — a Kronshtadt-built weapon around a Chinese hobby turbojet, launched from Orion drones: 500 km range, 114 kg warhead, agility Ukrainian intelligence says beats the Kalibr. First used on Kyiv in June 2026.
The V2U is Russia's autonomous AI strike drone — Nvidia Jetson brain, terrain-matching navigation, and late-2025 builds recovered with no radio link at all: nothing to jam. CSIS assesses Russia has likely fielded a fully autonomous weapon in combat. Maker unknown.
The Molniya is Russia's plywood-and-tape strike drone — a $300–1,600 fixed-wing weapon launched by the thousands each month against Ukrainian cities and supply roads, now spawning fiber-optic, FPV-carrier, recon and 13 kg heavy variants. Cheap mass as doctrine.
The M1989 Koksan is North Korea's 170mm self-propelled gun — the largest-caliber tube artillery in service anywhere, built to range Seoul. Since late 2024 Pyongyang has shipped 120–200 to Russia, where they now fire on Ukrainian lines and are being hunted by drones and HIMARS.
Russia's long-troubled attempt at a digital battle-management system for the tactical level — the "Sozvezdie system," meant to fuse reconnaissance, command and fires across a brigade. The adversary mirror to Ukraine's Delta, and a case study in why Russian C2 lagged in Ukraine.