American-made technology guiding Ukraine’s strikes into Russia
KYIV, Ukraine — In early March, an American-made reconnaissance plane glided over Ukraine’s choppy Black Sea waters. Russia’s goals are below. While approaching a gas field off the southern coast of Ukraine, operators monitoring the feed spotted Russian soldiers and what appeared to be military equipment on an oil rig.
The Ukrainian navy called in its seaplane fleet and started firing at the platform. As a Russian Ka-27 helicopter landed nearby to evacuate personnel and equipment, a Ukrainian aerial drone flew downwards and exploded upon contact with the aircraft.
The conflict cost Russia more than $1.5 million in military equipment and, according to the Ukrainian navy, destroyed a key Russian platform for attacks on neighboring Ukrainian regions. It was one of the first examples of this a more aggressive Ukrainian strategy Using longer-range attack aircraft to exhaust Russia’s resources.
Black smoke rises from Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery site on the southeastern outskirts of Moscow after what the mayor of the Russian capital described as an “attack” on June 18, 2026.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a 40-day “influence operation” ending in early August to force Russia to end the war.
Reconnaissance aircraft that detected the oil rig (long-range surveillance aircraft known as “V-BAT”, produced by American defense firm Shield AI) played an increasingly important role in this campaign.
“We focus on targets that are expensive, strategically valuable or difficult to replace,” said a Ukrainian naval V-BAT operator who uses the call sign “negative.”
Drones’ reconnaissance flights deep into Russia have allowed Kiev to expand its attacks targeting its military, energy and logistics infrastructure.
“One of its biggest advantages is its range,” the drone operator said. “Since V-BAT can observe from a long distance, we can verify what is there, collect detailed images and provide intelligence without getting too close to the target.”
In June, Ukraine nearly doubled its attacks 30 miles beyond Russia’s front lines, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhailo Fedorov.
The strike campaign in and around the Black Sea was especially effective. On Tuesday night, the Ukrainian military struck nine oil tankers operating as part of Russia’s stay-behind fleet in the Black Sea. Last month, Russian authorities suspended gas sales to civilians in Crimea, the southern Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014.
Fedorov said drones would soon turn Crimea into “an island” and isolate it from the Russian mainland.
A year ago, the strategy’s success might have seemed unthinkable. In March 2025, the United States stopped providing certain types of intelligence for Ukraine to attack Russia, forcing Kiev to turn to other partners.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in January that two-thirds of the intelligence Ukraine receives now comes from France.
“With the United States stepping back, we started to engage more with European countries,” Taras Chmut, a defense expert with Ukraine’s Come Back Alive Foundation, said in an interview earlier this year. “They may be a little more limited technologically, but they are faster at making decisions than Americans.”
Reconnaissance drones also helped fill the gap. Ukrainian manufacturers increased the range But operators say V-BAT offers unique capabilities.
“We use a few other systems, but none offer the same range as V-BAT. They can’t compete with it in terms of endurance or communications,” said drone operator Negative.
Following Ukraine’s unmanned aerial vehicle attack, Russia’s St. A cloud of black smoke is visible over the port of St. Petersburg. / Credit: AP
Experts say the intelligence provided by the aircraft is vital not only for selecting targets, but also for identifying Russian air defense systems that are in your way. According to Ukrainian defense expert Fabian Hoffman, one of the main reasons for Ukraine’s recent successes that have deeply impressed Russia is a years-long “shaping campaign” that disabled Russian air defense assets.
Ukrainian officials say V-BAT helps locate more expensive air defense systems, such as Russia’s S-400 systems. The aircraft also has artificial intelligence software that programs its routes based on the locations of known Russian air defense systems.
Shield AI employees in Ukraine say the data and feedback the drones receive for their missions are crucial to their aircraft and software, requiring constant improvements. According to a Reuters investigation Earlier this year, V-BAT crashed more than 50 times on flights around the world in the last 18 months.
Operators in Ukraine say the combat environment is the only place where necessary changes can be made.
“For example, if Russian electronic warfare starts operating on a certain frequency, our operators report this information. When these frequencies change, we receive new reports and adjust,” said Alex, a Ukrainian veteran and Shield AI field operator. “This information is important because it allows us to understand how we need to update the aircraft.”
Ukrainian soldiers, who have adapted technology at a pace that few peacetime military forces can achieve, said they hope more American companies will develop technology with them.
“We always work as a team. We go into the field and get the important information we need, and they get the information they need to update the drone itself,” said drone operator Negative. “So it improves them and us.”
