Drone Dominance: Inside Ukraine and Russia’s Tech Arms Race - Sam Bendett | Part II

Part II: Attritable Warfare, UGVs, and the Future of Combat

In Part II, Sam Bendett returns to break down the real-time innovation shaping Russia and Ukraine's unmanned arsenals.

We examine the shift to fiber optic-controlled drones, the rising role of attritable assets, and how military bureaucracies are struggling to keep up with front-line innovation. Sam explains how Ukraine’s “Brave One” platform is setting a new standard for rapid drone deployment and feedback integration.

He also highlights the strategic shift toward unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), the use of drones in combined-arms operations, and the challenges Western defense tech faces in high-EW environments.

This episode paints a vivid picture of the next phase in warfare—where adaptability and scale matter more than sophistication.

Timestamps:
0:00 – Why Ukraine’s drone acquisition cycle is so fast
1:42 – Russia’s ad hoc production networks
3:34 – Russian adaptability and the “frozen middle”
5:53 – Ukraine’s Brave One platform and digital coordination
8:04 – Parallels with WWII and lessons in attrition
11:45 – EW and GPS spoofing: the invisible battle
15:13 – Balancing cost vs effectiveness in drone design
17:32 – Rise of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs)
20:07 – Ukraine’s fully unmanned assault tests
21:13 – Where to follow Sam Bendett

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About Drone Wars

Firestorm Studios brings you The Drone Wars Podcast, a show that explores all facets of autonomous systems - ground, air, and sea - and their transformative impact on various aspects of human life, from agriculture to warfare. We feature interviews with CEOs, founders, and C-suite executives from the world's leading autonomy and robotics companies.