Babbage: How drones are transforming warfare in Ukraine

<p>The <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2023/02/07/how-drones-dogfight-above-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">use of drones</a> in the war in Ukraine has been increasing. Unmanned vehicles capture battlefield images, relay co-ordinates, and strike targets in Ukraine and <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/20/ukraine-is-betting-on-drones-to-strike-deep-into-russia?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">even Russia</a>. Whether purpose-built military devices or <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/06/29/how-consumer-drones-are-changing-warfare?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">off-the-shelf civilian technology</a>, the drones are having an <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2022/04/20/how-did-ukraine-destroy-the-moskva-a-large-russian-warship?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=babbage&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">outsized impact</a>. How are they influencing battles? And what do they mean for the future of warfare?</p><br><p>Oliver Carroll, our correspondent in Ukraine, explores the purpose and effectiveness of drones in the war. Ulrike Franke of the European Council on Foreign Relations explains the potential that drone technology offers to armies. Plus, <em>The Economist</em>’s Benjamin Sutherland travels to Kyiv, to investigate how <a href="https://www.econ