On June 1, 2025, the Ukrainian military launched a massive drone attack on a Russian air base. Dubbed “Spider Web,” the operation involved a total of 117 drones. Operation “Spider Web” simultaneously attacked four military airfields within Russia. The total cost of manufacturing the 117 drones was estimated at approximately 200 million yen, while the damage to Russia is estimated at 5,000 times that amount, or 1 trillion yen. One-third of Russia’s strategic bombers were lost in the operation. The massive drone attack on the Russian air base has shocked security officials around the world. It has forced countries to rethink their security strategies. It has also served as a reminder that attacks on not only military facilities but also nuclear power plants, data centers, and other similar facilities are easy targets.
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine since 2022 has brought about changes (evolution) in military technology. It has been revealed that drone attacks account for 80% of the damage inflicted by the Ukrainian military on Russian forces. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, in 2024, more than 200 domestic companies produced a total of 1.5 million drones. This is 300 times the production volume in 2022, which was around 5,000. At the beginning of the war in 2022, Ukraine relied on imports for drones and their components. As the war progressed, the country rapidly established its own production system. The Ukrainian military has deployed tens of thousands of drone pilots to its frontline units. Drone pilots are rapidly improving their skills through combat experience. These pilots have accumulated practical experience in areas such as jamming and evading air defense radar. Ukraine’s drone forces, with their diverse combat experience, are among the strongest in the world.
Drones can grasp enemy position information in real time and support high-precision artillery strikes. Drones equipped with AI support more advanced operations through autonomous flight and automatic target identification. AI drones that fly autonomously and automatically identify targets using image data from onboard cameras are also being developed. Applying these superior drone capabilities to civilian use is a future option. War can cost money, but agriculture can make money. Agriculture typically involves tasks such as sowing seeds, fertilizing, spraying pesticides, and harvesting. With minor improvements, Ukraine’s AI drones could automatically sow seeds, fertilize, and spray pesticides. Drones can perform these tasks more cost-effectively than manual labor. We hope to recapture at least some of what we’ve lost in war with drones that have evolved in war.
