UAVs, Ground Robotics, and Electronic Warfare — Three Pillars of Modern Land Warfare | Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament Studies

09.01.2026

The improvement of unmanned technologies and the flexible adaptation of innovative solutions into traditional platforms, against the backdrop of the growing mass use of weapons, forms the foundation of a new, intellectual war

Author:
Center for Army Research,
Conversion and Disarmament Studies

UAVs, Ground Robotics, and Electronic Warfare — Three Pillars of Modern Land Warfare

Russia is modernizing Shahed drones by adding VOR/DME navigation and even MANPADS “Verba” with remote control, while Ukraine is actively developing its own interceptors: “Salyut” with speeds up to 320 km/h and “General Chereshnya AIR Speed” from the defence-tech company “General Chereshnya,” complementing the AIR Pro line; the Ministry of Defense supplies more than 1,500 anti-Shahed drones per day. The company Fire Point has localized engine production for FP-1/2, manufacturing 80 out of 82 components domestically. In December 2025, Ukrainian drones struck 33,000 Russian soldiers, and more than half of deep strike attacks reached strategic Russian targets, including oil and gas infrastructure and defense plants. On land, a new ground robotic complex Zmiy Droid 12.7 with a Wolly combat module appeared, already used by the SBU for prisoner evacuation; thousands of missions involving GRCs have been verified in the DELTA system. Electronic warfare systems are becoming a key tool of asymmetric advantage: examples include American EA-18G and RQ-170 Sentinel, which enabled an operation in Venezuela, while in Ukraine the Ministry of Defense launched an experimental project to protect critical infrastructure with EW systems.

UAVs, Ground Robotics, and Electronic Warfare — Three Pillars of Modern Land Warfare

Author:Center for Army Research,Conversion and Disarmament Studies

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Author:
Center for Army Research,
Conversion and Disarmament Studies