A mediados de Set 2024, Ucrania realiz\u00f3 un ataque masivo con UAS sobre objetivos a 400km dentro del territorio ruso. Y fueron ejecutados con drones de ataque (UCAS) fabricados por los propios ucranianos. A casi 3 a\u00f1os desde el inicio de las operaciones, el pa\u00eds invadido adquiri\u00f3 enorme experiencia no solo en el empleo de estos disruptivos sistemas, sino adem\u00e1s en el desarrollo y producci\u00f3n local a escala masiva de todo tipo de UAS. Empresas estadounidenses como ANDURIL y AEROVIRONMENT, que proveyeron miles de drones a Ucrania, coinciden en que este pa\u00eds ha desarrollado una importante Base Industrial de Defensa (BID) espec\u00edfica en el \u00e1rea, que le permitir\u00eda participar en el futuro en el mercado global de sistemas aut\u00f3nomos a\u00e9reos. Y las empresas extranjeras como las citadas, se adaptan para seguir asistiendo a Ucrania, en aspectos relacionados con modernos componentes, uso de IA y contramedidas de guerra electr\u00f3nica.<\/p>\n
In mid-September, massive explosions erupted in Toropets, a city in eastern Russia near the border with Belarus.<\/p>\n
Ukraine had struck a military warehouse, igniting bombs and missiles in what Pentagon officials later said was Russia\u2019s largest loss of Russian ammunition during the war \u2014 hundreds of thousands of rounds destroyed.<\/p>\n
Almost as important, though, was how Ukraine conducted the strike.<\/p>\n
Toropets is more than 300 miles from the Ukrainian border, outside the range of western weapons Kyiv wants permission to fire deep into Russia. Instead, Ukraine used drones it built alone.<\/p>\n
Two and a half years into the war, the strike demonstrated a growing confidence in Ukraine\u2019s own ability to design and build drones, perhaps the war\u2019s defining weapon so far. Officials in Kyiv have said they can build weapons that are more precise and resilient than those sent by the West \u2014 an argument some American military officials dismissed in private as late as this summer, when speaking with Defense News.<\/p>\n
Now even the Pentagon is bullish.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ukrainian-made drones are doing very well,\u201d a senior U.S. military official told reporters last week, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive assessment.<\/p>\n
This success is forcing American firms to adapt. When Russia invaded in early 2022, U.S. drone companies sent Ukraine systems by the thousands, both to support its self-defense and to test their gear. Many firms have continued sending them, and even set up shop inside the country.<\/p>\n
A more self-reliant Ukraine may change those relationships. American companies are finding different demands for their equipment, and in some case less demand at all. If that\u2019s the case, American companies may struggle to refine their equipment, applying lessons from a conflict many officials say is showing the future of warfare.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain in constant connectivity with the units that are using the systems that we\u2019re providing,\u201d said Chris Brose, chief strategy officer at Anduril, of Ukrainian soldiers. \u201cThey are our toughest critics.\u201d<\/p>\n