Originally Posted by
CLazarus
Really interesting WSJ article, but it’s behind a paywall. The Ukraine war has mostly snuffed out the job of snipers.
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/mil...85a271?mod=mhp
“A Ukrainian special-forces sniper
claimed a world record in late 2023 with a shot that hit a Russian officer almost 2½ miles away.
These days Vyacheslav Kovalskiy has a new job: supporting drone pilots. He hasn’t been out to shoot in more than a year and a half.
Small drones that are cheap and can be rigged with explosives have changed the face of warfare in Ukraine, pushing some traditional military roles down the billing. Spotters who call in artillery strikes are no longer needed.
Tank crews have lost their swagger as their vehicles are top targets for aerial craft.
Unmanned vehicles are particularly suited to the sniper’s two main tasks of reconnaissance and targeted killing. Their key advantages include their bigger visual range, maneuverability and expendability: If the mission fails, the loss is a craft worth thousands of dollars rather than a life.“
No question that the drone has drastically changed what used to be called the FEBA and the former dominance of artillery in killing infantrymen. And I’m sure this is much to the dismay of many large defense contractors who were/are getting rich selling multimillion dollar weapons. And - lacking the US military procurement laws, Ukraine has developed and fielded a variety of effective drones quicker than we could - at least in peacetime. But innovations tend to be fast in war, and simple effective things can be adapted quickly by BOTH SIDES.
And simple, inexpensive, effective methods are adapted by BOTH sides. Russia may not have innovated drone warfare nut they too are rushing to catch up:
.
https://kyivindependent.com/russias-...e-magyar-says/
an excerpt:
Russia 'ripping off' Ukraine's drone forces success, Unmanned Systems Forces commander says
May 14, 2026 3:18 pm
• 3 min read