Our Latest Reports on War Drones | 60 Minutes Full Episodes
In a Nutshell
Drones have revolutionized warfare in Ukraine, inflicting 80% of casualties, enabling cheap kills under $1,000 per Russian soldier, and prompting innovations like Sea Baby sea drones that sank 11 Russian vessels and fiber-optic guided drones evading jammers. The US adapts via laser defenses like AeroVironment's $3-per-shot Locust system against cheap Iranian Shahed drones amid a new war, while Germany rearms with €100B+ spending, drone contracts, and biotactic roach scouts, aiming for NATO dominance by 2029. Anduril's autonomous AI weapons—Roadrunner interceptors, Fury jets, Dive-LD subs—challenge legacy contractors, prioritizing scalable, pilotless systems to sustain prolonged conflicts against China, Iran, and Russia.
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When America went to war with Iran last month, the US military faced an enemy using mass-produced drones to deadly effect. The same weapons have been used for years in Ukraine, some supplied by Iran to Russia. Unmanned and remotely controlled drones have transformed the Ukrainian battlefield. They're estimated to inflict around 80% of combat casualties on both sides. The technology is revolutionary and evolving rapidly. The US military is learning lessons from Ukraine to adapt.
Forget everything you think you know about warfare. The traditional front line in Ukraine has expanded to a roughly 10m wide strip called the kill zone. Anyone who sets foot there can be spotted by a drone operator and hunted down. Ukrainian soldiers had a narrow escape. They call retrofitted tanks with cages and mesh Frankenstein tanks to deflect drone strikes. Netting covers roads close to the front, designed to catch drones before they hit their target. To evade electronic jammers, both militaries launch drones attached to miles-long spools of fiber optic wire, leaving behind a digital spiderweb.
Drones are not just in the air. Beside a frozen lake, Ukraine's security service showed one of their most treasured weapons: the Sea Baby sea drone, developed in Ukraine. It looks like a fishing boat with an outboard motor. The operator's identity is protected as he's a target for Russian assassination.
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