The conflict in Ukraine has turned into the world’s first fully fledged drone war. The remote-controlled flying machines are now used by both sides for transporting supplies, surveilling the enemy and carrying out attacks. John Thornhill visits Kyiv to learn more about how the war has sparked a boom in Ukrainian defence tech that has changed the battlefield. He sees first-hand how these drones are made, and unpacks what the rest of the world can learn from Ukraine about future wars.  

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Ukraine is winning the drone start-up war

Ukraine weighs lifting arms export ban to scale up drone industry

Ukraine’s battle against Russia in maps and charts

This episode of Tech Tonic is produced by Persis Love, Edwin Lane and Kateryna Malofieieva, with special thanks to Christopher Miller. The executive producers are Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, and Joseph Salcedo. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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