Ukraine’s FPV Drones Are Getting More Lethal

Ukraine is tinkering with its fleet of first-person-view (FPV) drones, one of the most popular drones in its battle with Russia in the air, to do more damage to Moscow’s armored vehicles as Kyiv struggles with dwindling ammunition stocks from its Western allies.

Ukraine has said it developed armor-piercing ammunition, known as EFP, compatible with its fleet of FPV drones.

According to Ukrainian media, it is designed for use against military vehicles with some measure of armor, including armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery. The ammunition can travel at 1,800 meters per second, according to Ukrainian sources.

Explosive-formed projectiles, or penetrators (EFP), are not a new technology, but a version of standard armor-piercing-shaped charge rounds, said military expert David Hambling.

“EFPs penetrate less armor than other shaped charges, which is why they are less popular,” he told Newsweek. “However, they provide a much longer range.”

The main advantage for the ammunition on Ukraine’s FPV drones lies in Kyiv’s operators being able to trigger the round from afar. “EFPs will also zip right through cages or netting which is often used to protect vehicles from FPVs,” he added.

FPV drones quickly became almost emblematic of Ukraine’s efforts with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They can be used to record dramatic battlefield footage where the drone careens towards Russian vehicles before exploding, or deployed as reconnaissance tools to guide artillery strikes.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Kyiv’s Minister of Digital Transformation, heading up Ukraine’s drone efforts against Russia, told Newsweek in December that “they work sometimes even more efficiently than artillery.”

As concern deepens over Ukraine’s scarce stockpile of ammunition, the new EFP ammunition attached to FPV drones may offer some help in bridging the gap between Ukraine’s ammunition stores and the reality of how many shells it needs.

Ammunition has featured high up on Kyiv’s wish list of aid from its Western backers, but NATO supplies have been depleted, not least of the in-demand 155mm shell.

Throughout the more than 25 months of war, Ukraine has raced against Russia to develop innovative drone solutions, and Kyiv dominated FPV manufacturing in the early parts of 2023.

Russia then responded by ramping up its own production programs. Kyiv, meanwhile, has run several fundraisers to keep up its supply of cheap but crucial drones.

“Multiple Russian volunteer, state and affiliated manufacturing efforts have significantly ramped up FPV development and shipped large quantities to the front,” Bendett previously told Newsweek, adding in mid-December that Russia was likely receiving tens of thousands of FPV drones from these efforts each month.

A Ukrainian commander said in mid-December that Kyiv’s fighters had just one FPV drone for up to seven Russian FPV drones in key battleground sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukraine has said it is on track to produce more than a million drones in 2024, surpassing the target set out by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in late 2023.