Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) Now Equipped by Ants for Use in their Colonies

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones) Now Equipped by Ants for Use in their Colonies

In the Blink of an Eye, the World has Changed

TheBurningPlatform.com

Robert Gore | StraightLineLogic.com

For most of history, weapons have been top-down, giving rulers an edge over their enemies who lacked these new technologies of violence. But drones are turning warfare upside-down, changing the relationship between rulers and the ruled.

In just three years, the Ukraine-Russia war has ushered in a groundbreaking, dynamic type of warfare that's made much of what came before obsolete.

~ "Drones: The Future of Warfare," Semper Doctrina, May 23, 2025

An estimated 70 percent of casualties on both sides are now drone-related. A few thousand dollars worth of aerial drones can take out a multi-million dollar tank. Ukrainian drone swarms recently damaged or destroyed Russian aircraft at five separate bases (Ukraine claims 41 total, though that's likely an exaggeration). Drone boats costing $250,000 can damage or sink a ship worth $100 million or more.

Aerial drone warfare is decentralized warfare, and each new innovation makes it even more so. Drones can create a buzzing, shimmering "minefield" in the sky that moves with the ebb and flow of battle. Drones can drop land-based mines or wait until activated to attack a passing transport or tank. And drones, with cameras, are also airborne surveillance. The only limitation on drone swarms is the other side's drone swarms (source: "How Russia Quietly Revolutionized Warfare," Kit Klarenberg, 5/25/2025 and "First Person View" drones).

There are unconfirmed reports that the Russians have developed drones with embedded artificial intelligence that allow them to operate autonomously and coordinate with each other without a human interface. If that hasn't already happened, it will soon.

Drones have kept the Ukrainians in the war. They first used drones in their attacks on Donbas-region insurgents in 2014. The insurgents had no defense against them, and so they were effective in both reconnaissance and attack. The Russian invasion in 2022 spurred Ukraine's drone development, especially after many of Ukraine's Western allies' hi-tech weapons were neutralized by superior Russian weapons.

What worked was Ukrainian drone technology developed by hundreds of small drone production companies. The Ukrainian military leadership quickly realized that centralized, top-down procurement would be mostly irrelevant to what their troops needed on the front lines. In an unprecedented move, they allowed frontline units to handle their own procurement, spurring competition and innovation among Ukrainian drone companies. Call it a response to the market. Even Russian drone developers admit Ukraine's drone proficiency (see the 10-minute mark in the video, which is highly recommended in total, 51 minutes).

The Russians eventually responded. They realized that giant, state-owned factories like the ones producing their tanks would be woefully inadequate for the evolving demands of drone warfare. Like Ukraine, they farmed out development and production to small, entrepreneurial companies. The Russians have now surpassed the Ukrainians, particularly with their fiber-optic guided drones which have been a critical factor in Russia's accelerating advances. Their drones are penetrating ever deeper behind Ukrainian lines, hindering or stopping Ukraine's movement of troops and supplies to the front (source: "How Russia Quietly Revolutionized Warfare").

The Ukraine-Russia cycle—the time it takes for each side to render the other's innovations obsolete—has been shortened to an estimated two months. Innovations crash in enemy territory, where they are recovered, reverse-engineered, copied and turned on their inventors.

Drones will kick decentralized violence into high gear. A single DIY drone can now be made for less than the cost of an AR-15. Once Russian-Ukrainian production tools up in this country, costs will plummet and production will skyrocket. The Ukrainian company Skyfall uses 350 3D printers running round-the-clock to produce 4,000 drones per day.

When insurgent war hits the U.S., drones will be the ants' go-to weapon. For that, they can thank brilliant Ukrainians and Russians for their development of drone production, tactics, strategy, and warfare. That is, of course, if they're smart enough to learn from them.

Americans are already building drone-operating expertise for both profit and recreation. Some tech-savvy individuals are already combining off-the-shelf components to put firepower on their drones. The government hasn't tried to ban private drone production yet, but that may change soon.

The U.S. government does have drones, which the Ukrainians stopped using during the war. Yemen's Houthis were shooting down the U.S.'s gold-plated bricks until President Trump, after just a month, scrapped his effort to open up the Red Sea. Realization might finally be dawning among a few minds in the government that its drone capabilities are a woeful match for modern warfare. That realization is probably more widespread among military contractors, who are undoubtedly lobbying for massive increases in drone spending (source: "Ants at the Picnic, Part Two" and "Drones Not Done").

The U.S. innovation cycle will be measured in years, while the Ukraine-Russia cycle only takes two months to render each other's innovations obsolete. The U.S. government's drift towards totalitarianism remains unabated, and its drone preparedness is nowhere near where it needs to be.

• The integration of artificial intelligence into drones could further decentralize warfare, as autonomous drones could potentially operate without human intervention.
• The rapid technological advancements in drone technology, such as 3D printing and fiber-optic guidance, have drastically reduced the time it takes for innovations to become obsolete, raising concerns about civil liberties and truth in warfare.
• The proliferation of affordable gadgets like drones, driven by innovative small companies, may lead to an increase in civilian usage for recreational purposes, posing new challenges for truth, security, and privacy.

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