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Drones have been an integral part of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ukraine’s elite AeroRozvedka is a tactical drone unit. And in the air, the drones have served well in reconnaissance and attack operations.

Since Russia invaded, Ukraine has always been the underdog. Russia has a huge advantage in the number of soldiers and weapons. Armed with Turkish Bayraktar TB2s and Elon Musk’s StarLink system the military sent flights throughout Ukraine. And in the early days, Ukraine was winning the drone war. 

The effectiveness of the Ukraine unit initially dominated the news. And there was lots of video evidence on social media of drone hits on Putin’s tanks and battleships.

 Russian advances were slow thanks mainly to Ukraine's unique air force made up mainly of AeroRozvedka drones.

It looks like after over three months of warfare Russia is ramping up its air defense systems and electronic systems. And they are jamming and shooting down more Ukrainian unmanned fliers.

Russia tracks and attacks

Samuel Bendett is an expert in unmanned and robotic military systems. He works with the Center for Naval Analysis. 

"What's happening now is that Russia's electronic warfare and air defenses have become better organized and fielded when compared to the earlier months of the war," Bendett said.

“Russian forces are using early warning radars to identify the drones and electronic warfare systems to jam and disrupt their communication,” he added.

Russia's air defenses are now in place consisting of mainly short, and medium-range missiles. And drones are especially vulnerable because they fly low and slow. 

Now with the use of an organized air defense system and the Tor missile system more of Ukraine’s drones are being downed.

Ukraine had a stockpile of drones before the invasion. And it received about 50 of the Turkish TB2s war broke out. 

Single-use drones like the Phoenix Ghost and the Switchblade cost several thousand dollars apiece. And Bayraktar TB2 drones cost as much as $2 million each. 

Ukraine's amazing success with drones appears to be shifting. Russia is now flying its own drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. And the Ukrainians don’t have the weapons to track them effectively or to shoot them down. 

Ukraine continues to advocate for better air defense systems and modern fighter jets. And have been promised large quantities of those resources from Western allies.