Drone warfare in Ukraine: munitions, cameras, and fiber optics
Three key stories: April 3-10, 2026
The drone munitions sector in Ukraine is evolving alongside unmanned systems and must be continually adapted, as military units require specific quantities of munitions of varying weights and characteristics for their tasks. The same delivery platform can carry varying amounts of explosive material, enabling different effects. Although the state incentivizes Ukrainian manufacturers, improvised munition production continues to play a significant role in filling this critical capability gap.
In this edition:
Hell’s Kitchen: Drone Munitions in Ukraine;
Can Ukraine Get Rid of Chinese Cameras?
Fiber Optics Are Getting More Expensive — So Are Drones;
and 5+ additional developments in drone warfare in Ukraine and Russia.
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Hell’s Kitchen: Drone Munitions in Ukraine
Ukraine’s Arms Monitor’s source in the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that around 90% of drone munitions in the military are improvised, while only about 10% are factory-produced. “Factory-produced munitions are always better, as they are properly engineered and tested. But this is not a matter of preference—it is the result of a munitions vacuum. The state does not allow its widespread production, and it takes time to develop and refine solutions. The battlefield, however, demands results “here and now,” the serviceman mentioned. “There have been absurd cases—for example, when a brigade was supplied with 7-inch drones and then, separately, with 8.5 kg aerial bombs. And what were we supposed to do with that?” he added.
As a result, highly skilled personnel have emerged within the military to fill this gap. In practice, almost every unit has its own workshop or production capability. The sources of explosives are either the battlefield itself or repurposed stockpiles.
According to the serviceman, the first munition adapted for drones appeared in 2022—an F1 grenade rigged for release from a Mavic drone. Development was initially very simple: a pipe filled with ~0.5 kg of plastic explosive, plus another 400–500 grams of ball bearings for fragmentation. The focus was on increasing the effect of dropped munitions.
“Then FPV drones appeared. The first munition used was the PG-7—a rocket from an RPG, as the initial focus was on targeting armored vehicles and FPVs were still scarce. A simple activation mechanism was devised using contact “whiskers”: like a button—contact equals detonation. The goal was straightforward: impact the tank”.
The evolution then split into two main paths: bomber drones and FPV drones.
Bomber drones:
Initially used anti-personnel mines and 82 mm mortar rounds, along with various types of grenades.
The first custom designs appeared around 2023: a pipe filled with plastic explosive or TNT plus fragmentation elements.
These produced significantly stronger blasts, although factory-made munitions fragment more effectively—as expected, since they are properly engineered rather than improvised.
For bombers, the classic option remains the VOG-25 grenade.
It has been used since the early stages and continues to be used today.
It can be loaded in large numbers (e.g., 20 in a rotary dispenser) and dropped sequentially.
Lightweight but highly effective against infantry in trenches.
FPV drones:
Evolution started from the PG-7. It was later modified by adding fragmentation elements around the explosive, creating what became known as a cumulative-fragmentation munition.
This type remains widely used today due to its versatility.
Another development was a simple pipe filled with plastic explosive or TNT, resulting in a high-explosive (blast) munition, used for attacking dugouts and shelters—relying primarily on blast effect rather than fragmentation.
Modern variants:
The core concepts remain the same, but the range of weights has expanded: 0.4, 0.5, 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 4, 4.5 kg, etc.
These can be cumulative-fragmentation, purely cumulative, or high-explosive (without fragmentation).
Everything you know—and even what you don’t know—can be turned into a weapon.
Earlier, UNITED24 reported on a workshop led by Ukrainian servicemen from the Special Forces Regiment that processes dozens of defective shells every day, converting them into munitions for FPV drones and bomber UAVs.
With limited resources, the team repurposes old, unusable artillery shells, some of which date back to the 1950s.
Frontline troops also supply anti-tank missiles from systems such as Javelin and NLAW that were damaged by shrapnel but still contain explosive material. This explosive is used to fill the warheads used by Ukrainian drones.
For instance, footage showing the cutting of one of the shells revealed that it had been exposed to corrosion for a long time and was unlikely to be usable for its original purpose. Such munitions are filled with phlegmatized explosives, meaning they will not detonate without a proper detonator.
The workshop also repurposes PG-7 shaped-charge grenades for RPG-7 launchers by adding counterweights and stabilizing fins so that they can be dropped from bomber drones.
In October 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers authorized the extraction of explosives and other components from unexploded ordnance for use in support of the Defense Forces, effectively legalizing a long-existing “industry.”
According to rough estimates, up to 20% of munitions in combat zones fail to detonate. A mechanism was therefore developed not only to safely dispose of hazardous items, but also to turn this process into a benefit for the military.
A proper UAV munition must be effective, and only then convenient and easy to use, wrote Vladyslav Khrystoforov for Oboronka in January 2026. It should consist of a warhead of optimal weight, a guidance or stabilization system, an initiation system, a detonator/explosive charge, and a standardized mounting mechanism for UAV platforms. At the same time, it must withstand the harsh conditions of the frontline—vibrations, temperature fluctuations, and challenging storage environments.
Currently, the market for drone munitions in Ukraine is gradually stabilizing. Professional manufacturers have emerged, but a significant share is still supplied by volunteers and improvised (“garage”) production.
Military units often receive drones separately, while munitions are procured through different channels—or even assembled on-site.
To compensate for shortages at the front, non-standard “drops” are used. For example, servicemen from the “Khartiia” unit modified an unexploded Russian Grad rocket and used a bomber drone to strike enemy infantry positions.
Drone operators from the “Perun” unmanned systems battalion have dropped 155 mm and 122 mm munitions on enemy targets. Such solutions are largely a forced measure due to the shortage of dedicated UAV munitions.
The volunteer initiative “DrukArmiia” unites around 2,500 volunteers with their own 3D printers, producing plastic components for “cold” munitions and sending them to the front. Their product line includes 128 munition variants.
“DrukArmiia” ships over 110,000 “cold” munitions per month. However, these are not yet “hot,” combat-ready munitions. Their effectiveness depends on the correct composition and quality of the explosive material, as well as proper assembly—often carried out by sappers on the frontline.
Another category includes improvised drops with stabilizing fins. These were often made from rounds for automatic grenade launchers or by attaching hand grenades to drones that mechanically release the safety pin over the target. To improve aerodynamics, such munitions began incorporating 3D-printed tail fins, fairings, and impact fuzes.
One of the most difficult challenges in munition production has been sourcing explosives. Many new manufacturers and volunteers, lacking access to standardized military-grade explosives, rely on industrial explosives with lower explosiveness. This reduces both armor penetration and fragmentation effectiveness against enemy infantry.
The global explosives market is relatively limited, and procuring components is economically viable only under large contracts.
At the same time, to secure contracts, manufacturers must already have access to these materials. Importing and storing them is costly and requires specialized facilities—leading many companies to focus only on “cold” munition production.
The company Defenses Solution was for a long time a major importer of VOG rounds for grenade launchers. Through surveys of military personnel, it identified demand for drone-delivered munitions. It turned out that VOG-type munitions were increasingly used not for their original purpose, but as drops from DJI Mavic drones.
One of the solutions developed is the “Tsviakh” munition, designed primarily to engage infantry in open terrain or lightly protected structures. It can also disable vehicles, communication antennas, electronic warfare systems, and unprotected infrastructure.
“Tsviakh” consists of plastic components produced via injection molding and metal parts manufactured on high-precision CNC machines. It is delivered as a fully assembled munition, including initiator and explosive charge.
Ukrainian Armored Vehicles, traditionally focused on artillery munitions, developed the UB60D FPV drone munition based on a 60 mm mortar round. This codified munition can be used both as part of a mortar shot and as an FPV drone drop, allowing production standardization and rapid scaling. Compared to a standard mortar round, the FPV version lacks the tail assembly and propellant charges and features a modified fuze.
In July 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation launched a two-year experimental project on the production, procurement, and supply of munitions for unmanned systems, as well as warheads for UAVs. This initiative aimed to encourage private companies to manufacture drone munitions.
As a result of this initiative, 76 new companies were added to the Register of participants and contractors eligible for state defense procurement, granting them official manufacturer status.
The duration of approval processes has been reduced to just a few days, due to the temporary suspension of requirements under 19 existing regulatory acts.
This has significantly accelerated munition development and delivery: 370 new munition types have been codified and approved for use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of which 250 are specifically designed for unmanned systems.
Seán Moorhouse, Mine Action/EOD Consultant, wrote in his recent article that this revolution in drone warfare has left the EOD/IEDD world behind:
There is no lexicon to describe factory-designed and produced one-way-attack UAV warheads. To further confuse the issue, Russia and Ukraine use very similar nomenclature to describe their drone-delivered munitions.
“The Geran-2 can be fitted with a range of warheads, from the most common, 50 kg blast and fragmentation version, to a 90 kg blast and fragmentation version and 50 kg thermobaric version. All versions can then be further modified by the addition of an incendiary compound. What do we call the warheads fitted to one-way-attack drones like the Geran-2? Their role is clear, but there is no existing lexicon that they fit into,” Seán writes.
There is a similar gap regarding munitions delivered by bomber drones.
Munitions dropped from bomber drones fall into three categories: factory-produced, modified, and improvised. Having three categories is controversial, with many in the sector arguing that there are only two: factory-produced and improvised. That said, there is no place in the existing lexicon to adequately describe a factory-produced munition dropped from a bomber-drone or a munition that has been modified, rather than improvised.
Can Ukraine Get Rid of Chinese Cameras?
Cameras are a critical component of unmanned systems, as they determine navigation, reconnaissance, and data transmission from the battlefield. In my article last year on the localization of FPV drone production in Ukraine, several manufacturers identified cameras as one of Ukraine’s biggest import dependencies.