I hadn’t intended to contact the director of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service (SSSCIP)—but nonetheless woke up early in May to find a letter from him forwarded to my inbox. Brigadier General Yurii Shchyhol, head of the agency entrusted with enforcing Ukraine’s information security and battle-worn cyber defenses, had some thoughts to share in a substantial email regarding which kinds of drones were contributing most to Kyiv’s war effort.

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A few weeks earlier I’d sent interview questions to United24, Kyiv’s international fundraising platform, in advance of interviews with a veteran Ukrainian drone pilot and digital transformation and innovation minister Mykhailo Fedorov, both stumping for Ukraine’s Army of Drones donation program.

United24 indicated some of my questions were possibly too sensitive. I had no problem with such vetting, as I didn’t want to put Ukrainian operational security (OPSEC) at risk; whatever I publish is read by friend and foe alike.

But my questions didn’t end up getting tossed out. Instead, they were forwarded for review by the SSSCIP. And its chief, Brig. Gen. Shchyhol, took it upon himself to reply to several of them with a considered reply.

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Below you can read his response to me, with minor alterations for clarity and idiom. I’ve added comments in brackets and italics to provide additional context, and to describe in detail systems he alludes to.

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All drones, whether produced in Ukraine or abroad, are useful today. Each and every one of them has its own niche. All that’s needed is to know how to work with them.

For example, models such as Mavic or Matrice. As of today, these are multi-purpose drones that, while maybe not needed by every individual soldier, are absolutely crucial for every division and subdivision of the Armed Forces. Mavic drones in particular, which are installed with thermal vision systems, allow for reconnaissance at any time of the year, day or night, saving our heroes countless times.

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Currently, Ukraine requires an incredibly large number of drones. Even though the government has already allotted approximately 40 billion hryvnia (over $1 billion USD) towards drone purchases in this year alone, we still need more drones. Any drones that we receive, both as part of the Army of Drones project and through international aid, help empower our forces and save defender’s lives.

As such, we’re glad to see any support — be it by donating drones to Ukraine, or raising funds for the Army of Drones project.

[Mavic and Matrice quadcopter camera drones, built by Chinese firm DJI, are widely used by both sides for reconnaissance, artillery-spotting, situational awareness and precision grenade attacks. Though short-ranged and susceptible to jamming, they are effective, affordable cand easily acquired and donated by civilians.]

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The war that’s happening in Ukraine right now has no comparison in world history. It’s a war of technology. Our enemy outnumbers us, and Russians send their soldiers to die on the battlefield by the dozens. Our task in all of this is to protect the lives of our soldiers and defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty. That’s why FPV drones, which work at short distances, are exactly the kind of opportunity we need to take to lower the risks of a Ukrainian soldier losing their life. These drones can perform efficient reconnaissance in close proximity to the front lines, or even in the actual zone of conflict.

[First Person View drones were traditionally associated with the drone racing hobby, flown by an operator using 3D goggles to “see” from the drone’s perspective. Though requiring a high degree of skill to use, they can be built in large numbers at low cost very quickly. Starting last winter, Ukraine began deploying large numbers on the frontline as expendable, precision kamikaze weapons, or for reconnaissance.]

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Going back to what I said before: it’s impossible to name three or four “most useful” drones, as they all have their uses. Ask the different subdivisions which Ukrainian drone is the best, and they’ll name the ones they personally work with. Some prefer a Kazhan or Vampir, others favor the Pegasus. The Armed Forces have units that specialize in using drones, and each one has their own preferences and methodologies.

[Kazhan (“Bat”) is a newly developed ‘heavy bomber’ in both quadcopter and hexacopter models that can carry multiple mortar shells, even including powerful 120-millimeter mortar rounds. It can attack out to 18 miles away carrying a 44-pound payload.

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Pegasus, by comparison is an FPV kamikaze drone. A small version uses 2.2-pound anti-personnel warheads. A large variant can carry a 4.4-pound PTAB anti-tank bomblet. A Ukrainian volunteer organization called Escadrone is hand-assembling a thousand per month, costing $341 or $462 each.]

At the start of the full-scale invasion, we had approximately 30 companies that mass-produced drones in Ukraine. As of today, that number has tripled — around 90 companies work in this field now. It must be understood that each company produces not just a single series of drones, but anywhere from 2 to 5 varieties. UAV production is upscaling very quickly.

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Leleka, Furia, Valkyrja, Mara, Pegasus — these are some of the most famous drones at the moment that come to mind. There’s also one interesting Ukrainian production, Cetus; after the start of the full-scale invasion, this company, which used to make camera drones for field work, has retrofitted their drones and created one of the best recon UAVs. Not just in Ukraine, but in the world. It provides a clear image, which is crucial for understanding and analyzing enemy movements.

[These are fixed-wing military reconnaissance drones. The seven-pound ASU-1 Valkyrja, for example, has two hours of endurance, can be controlled from 22 miles away, and has HD and thermal cameras, the former with 10K zoom.

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The smaller (5.5-pound) hand-launched Mara-2 (for Modular Advanced Robotic Aircraft) has 90 minutes endurance but is effective out to 37-56 miles using pre-programmed waypoints.

The FLIRT Cetus drone by Kyiv-based Abris Design Group is a larger, catapult-launched system with a 61 Megapixel multi-spectral camera on gyro stabilized gimbal. It was originally designed for aerial mapping over wide area, such as for agricultural monitoring.]

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I believe that after the war, drone production in Ukraine will become a massive market that should give a much-needed push, not just to the development of this industry, but to the Ukrainian economy as a whole. For example, before the full-scale invasion, nobody even knew about Polish drones such as Fly Eye, but their effectiveness in Ukraine has created a lot of demand, and now the company is full up on orders for years to come.

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Drones for fighting other drones are, potentially, a very useful thing. However, for them to properly defend the Ukrainian air space, this idea must be completely perfected. As of right now, anti-UAV drones are generally in the test stage of development, trying out new technologies. Currently not just Ukraine, but no country in the world has effective anti-UAV drones. There are interception systems, there are nets and jammers — but a drone that intercepts other drones — doesn’t exist yet.

That said, I will add that this is a very promising avenue of development. Many countries, such as Turkey and Israel, are actively developing in that direction. A drone that flies faster than another drone isn’t hard to make, but predicting and intercepting it — that’s the challenge. That’s what our developers are working on. Because catching up to another drone and understanding its behavior — that’s what requires elements of AI and analytics that are still being tested. There needs to be a fully functional system capable of drone detection, guidance, aim tracking, and only then can a drone like that be used.

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[Kyiv has been combat testing a variety of speedy drone interceptors with speed ranging from 100 to 180 miles per hour, including Anduril’s Anvil drone, the MARSS NiDAR/Interceptor system, and the Ukrainian-developed Fowler drone that switches between quadcopter and horizontal flight modes) with both kamikaze and net-gun attack modes.

In an interview in January, Fortem Technologies COO Tim Bean told me their DroneHunter F700 had proven “very effective” at downing Shahed-136 and Orlan-10 drones. After approaching drones are detected by ground-based radar, and F700 launches, closing in on the approaching UAV at up to 62 miles per hour aided by its onboard R20 radar which has enhanced resolution thanks to an NVIDIA DIA chip. The interceptor downs small drones with a two-shot netgun, and larger Class 3 drones by attaching a drogue-chute that pulls the target down.]

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Anti-drone rifles are useful tools for radioelectric combat. They can be carried with you and they’re quite good at destroying enemy UAVs. If it’s a quality rifle, then it’s incredibly effective. The ones to prove themselves most effective are anti-drone rifles made in Ukraine and the Baltic states.

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[Counter-drone ‘rifles’ are portable jammers that can drown out the command and navigation signals drones rely on. When in range, they can render drones ineffective or in some cases cause them to land or crash (particularly if they’re commercial drones).

The ‘Baltic’ drone gun is almost certainly referring to the 12-pound Lithuanian EDM4S ‘Skywiper’ system, which has four 10-watt antennas designed to jam both the drone’s control signals and its access to satellite navigation such as GPS, GLONASS and others. Ukraine has received over 150 Skywipers—the majority crowdfunded by civilians. With a maximum range of 2-3 miles, it reportedly has proven effective against Russia’s Eleron-3 reconnaissance drones.

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Ukraine’s most prominent domestic counter-drone gun is the Kvertus KVS G-6 effective out to 1.5-1.8 miles, including against Russia’s many Orlan-10 fixed-wing reconnaissance drones. The 80-watt weapon has six antennas and can also jam drone video feeds. The rival Ukrainian RIFF-P system has shorter range (.93 miles) but a more powerful 100-watt output.]