Ukraine's AI-guided midrange drones break Russian jamming, hitting 8 of 10 sorties

After SpaceX cut Russian forces' unauthorized Starlink access, upgraded Ukrainian drones are evading jamming and striking Russian supply lines far behind the front.

Ukrainian pilots of the K-2 brigade, working from a basement command post in the Kharkiv region, are flying midrange drones more than 100 kilometers behind Russian lines to hit the roads that carry fuel, ammunition and reinforcements, the Associated Press reported. The unit launched 800 midrange drones in May, and about 650 struck their targets.

"What's changed is that now eight out of every 10 sorties are successful," a K-2 pilot with the call sign Pharaon told the AP, adding that the success rate ran the other way only a few months ago.

Ukraine's gains followed SpaceX cutting off Russian forces' unauthorized access to Starlink earlier this year, which degraded Russian drone operations and let upgraded Ukrainian fixed-wing drones fitted with Starlink links fly farther and strike more accurately, the AP wrote. Those drones have begun closing a corridor of 25 to 200 kilometers where Russian troops and supplies had moved with relative freedom.

Newer Ukrainian drones also lean on autonomy to survive jamming. An operator locks the aircraft onto a target from several hundred meters out, and onboard electronics fly the final approach with no radio link for Russian electronic warfare to cut, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing drone makers. A cruise-control autopilot holds the drone's course and altitude through jammed zones until the operator's signal returns.

K-2's main aircraft, the Dart, is built from polystyrene, wood and 3D-printed parts, per the AP. A separate crew launches it more than 200 kilometers away, then hands control to the Kharkiv pilots, who fly it for as long as four hours.

K-2's commander, identified by the call sign Kat, told the AP the brigade's aim is to strip Russian infantry of food, ammunition, batteries and night vision by cutting the supply lines behind them. Ukrainian military intelligence has assessed that the strikes have made the land corridor to occupied Crimea too dangerous for steady resupply.

Russia is responding with more mobile anti-aircraft units, fixed machine-gun positions and interceptor crews, though their effect has been limited so far, according to the AP. Samuel Bendett of the Center for Naval Analyses said he expects Moscow to adapt over time because its larger army can absorb heavier losses, and that the question now is whether Ukraine can keep up the pressure over the coming weeks.