As Europe weighs a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, Putin warns sending troops ‘means a war with Russia’

Russia is methodically upgrading its attack drones across multiple fronts. This month, it plans to equip its drones with 20-element anti-jam antennas, replacing the 16-element versions that Ukrainian electronic warfare has struggled to counteract. Serhii Flash Beskrestnov, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's defense-technology adviser, revealed this development.

Ukrainian experts have repeatedly noted Russia's knack for scaling and upgrading weapons. Ukrainian Volunteer Army spokesperson Serhii Bratchuk described Russia's approach as "credit to the Russians. They know how to scale." Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko of the Information Resistance group further argued that Russia plans terror campaigns years in advance, adapting almost monthly - a foresight Ukraine has struggled to match.

The antenna upgrade is not the end, as VNIIR Progress, the main supplier, plans to produce 24-element arrays by 2027. China is also ramping up efforts, disguising multi-element antennas as farm equipment and shipping them to Russia.

Not every drone reaching Kyiv is piloted by a live operator. Many run on satellite navigation, with inertial navigation providing a backup when GPS signals drop. Recently, Russia upgraded its drones' inertial navigation as well. This distinction changes how Ukraine can combat these drones. While a remotely controlled drone can be jammed by disrupting its communication link, an autonomous drone flying on its own is harder to defeat. Ukraine must instead jam the GPS or GLONASS signals the drone relies on for navigation.

The same principle applies to Russia's newer cruise missiles, like the Banderol and Dan-T. These weapons, which Russia is banking on, rely solely on satellite and inertial navigation, lacking an operator link. As a result, Ukrainian electronic warfare can disrupt these missiles' course, despite Russia's efforts to harden the navigation systems.