In The News

Michael B. Petersen writes, “Scholarly explanations for why Russia would not invade Ukraine varied but tended to rely on utilitarian or instrumental factors. The invasion would be too costly to Moscow; international sanctions would annihilate the Russian economy; President Vladimir Putin’s domestic support would crumble; Russia would finally and fully become a pariah state; and Putin himself was not such a risky gambler.”

Samuel Bendett said, “I have not seen that particular drone application before, but [I'm] not surprised that Ukrainians are leading the charge once again since they have been the first to utilize many drones in novel ways throughout this conflict.”

Samuel Bendett said, “I do think once the weather changes, in the fall and the winter there won't be foliage to begin with, but right now as long as there's foliage that allows soldiers to hide under it, to place equipment under, to establish positions, storage facilities, this drone could be quite dangerous.”

While a Center for Naval Analyses report rightly notes the difficulty of quantifying Russia's nuclear threshold, it is in Washington's interest to avoid violating red lines that could allow the conflict in Ukraine to spiral out of control.

Decker Eveleth said, "[Satellite imagery identifying nine horizontal launch pads] are located in three groups inside high berms to shield them from attack or to prevent an accidental blast in one from detonating missiles in the others."

Samuel Bendett said, “I have not seen that particular drone application before, but [I’m] not surprised that Ukrainians are leading the charge once again since they have been the first to utilize many drones in novel ways throughout this conflict”

Decker Eveleth writes, “The Burevestnik is not a wonder weapon, and the challenges it poses for NATO security are neither new nor unmanageable. It may seem scary on paper, but the technical infeasibility of its mission limits its threat.”

Decker Eveleth said, “[the site is designed] for a large, fixed missile system - and the only large, fixed missile system that they're currently developing is the Skyfall."

Samuel Bendett explains, "At any given moment, there are probably tens of thousands of FPV drones operating in the skies over Ukraine."

According to Samuel Bendett, “[next-generation, intelligent swarms] is the ‘holy grail’ for the military.”

Samuel Bendett said, “On the Russian side, Telegram is used by all levels of the Russian ministry of defense, from the senior officials down to specific units who report on their progress, the Russian government officials, by regional officials, by volunteers, by private citizens, and many others”

Samuel Bendett said, “Moscow has been using FPV drones in training to defeat Ukrainian naval drones for a while now. They're basically refining the efforts of using the most advanced technologies.”

Samuel Bendett said, “In addition to these rudimentary tank-bombs, Russia is advancing with high-tech, self-driving UGVs such as the Marker. This platform, equipped with AI and machine learning capabilities, has demonstrated the ability to navigate controlled environments without human operators”

Samuel Bendett explains, “"Russian Telegrams are posting the following screenshot from a Russian unit "bragging" about what turned out to be a friendly fire incident when they used their DJI Mavic to down a Zala ISR drone, thinking it was a Ukrainian UAV."

Samuel Bendett said, "In Ukraine, some ground drones used by the Russian military have a tethered connection to prevent signal jamming, and many being developed by the Russian industry and volunteers offer both a radio link and a tethered connection as an option."

Sam Bendett explains, "There were numerous attempts of Ukrainian FPVs trying to chase Russian helicopters before, but all such attacks were near misses. It's difficult to pilot an FPV drone towards a military helicopter flying at high speeds."