Ukrainian military officials are increasingly worried that U.S.-provided Gray Eagle strike drones would get shot down by reinforced Russian air defenses in the Donbas region.

NEW: Ukrainian military officials are increasingly worried that U.S.-provided Gray Eagle strike drones would get shot down by reinforced Russian air defenses in the Donbas region.

"It’s not Afghanistan here," said one Ukrainian pilot.https://t.co/yxJwXnBYR4

— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) June 21, 2022

Could this be one of the "lessons" that everyone is getting wrong? Loitering munitions seem like they're king (because they're small?) but bigger ones seem vulnerable IF the Russians actually fought as a combined arms team. The Gray Eagle would appear to be vulnerable to a range of Russian anti-air systems yet the slightly smaller Turkish drone has been roaming free (awful tactics on the Russian side or some magic juice we don't know about).

The actual utility of drones on the future battlefield should be studied .... they might not be the game changer that many think.