For the past century, the weapon of choice for inflicting mass causalities has been artillery. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, that has given way to something higher tech and cheaper — drones.
Haunting Russian FPV drone footage that they themselves have uploaded to the internet shows the hum of drones as they stalk their human prey — civilians who find themselves caught in the quagmire of war.
“They’re talking about hunting humans,” former Navy pilot Ken Harbaugh told Military Times. “They’re talking about it as a kind of flex, and they post these images on Telegram, and they share them around. … It’s not collateral damage. Civilians are the targets. Little old ladies walking back from the market with shopping bags under their arms. They’re the targets.”
While just 17 minutes, “Drone Hunters of Kherson” displays the adaptability of this new war landscape, as Ukrainian counter-drone units patrol on foot to protect the people of Kherson and Odessa from Russian attacks.
The documentary follows Harbaugh — the first American to embed with the elite 11th “M. Hrushevskyi” Brigade, the 34th Coastal Defense Brigade and the 30th Marine Corps — as he takes viewers into what he describes as “a blend of trench warfare and the Terminator.”
Ukraine is, as the documentary puts it, ground zero of 21st century drone warfare, with Russia rewriting the rules of modern combat.
Harbaugh, alongside former U.S. representative Denver Riggleman, who serves as an executive producer of the film, argue that the United States is woefully unprepared for the new landscape of warfare — starting with procurement and adaptability.
“We don’t have an answer for it,” said Harbaugh. “The public is barely even aware of the threat. They know what drones are, but they do not know about their offensive capabilities and just how cheap and ubiquitous they are and how easily they can be turned into weapons.”
Both men are witnesses to what Harbaugh termed the “compressed the innovation cycle.”
“I have seen the innovation cycle at the front in Ukraine occur in a matter — I’m not exaggerating — of hours, and I’ve seen triggering mechanisms for warheads that are about to be fitted to the next day’s drones being 3-D printed the night before based on the next day’s targets,” Harbaugh said.
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“That kind of innovation, which takes hours or days in Ukraine, literally takes years in the United States when you go through the procurement process, the design iterations and all the various approvals … unless we adopt some of the Ukrainian approach to innovation, we’re never going to be able to adapt to a battlefield that changes by the day. We cannot have an innovation system that operates in timescales of years and decades responding to a battlefield that changes by the day.”
“Even with the biggest military budget in the world, we’re trying to catch up,” Riggleman added.
The documentary, which was filmed last fall, takes on new meaning as the United States enters its second month of war with Iran.
Since the United States and Israel began their joint offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, 13 service members have been killed in action and nearly 300 wounded during Operation Epic Fury.
Just last Friday, an Iranian missile and drone attack injured a dozen U.S. service members at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia. Two of the 12 injuries are considered to be serious.
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“I think the lack of preparedness was evident that the first U.S. service members killed was by a Shahed [drone],” Riggleman said. “When you’re looking at drone warfare, we should have been well ahead of the curve with a U.S. military the might that we have, and instead, we’re at the mercy of countries that had to adapt in real time in a wartime environment.”
In Ukraine, drones are being used not only by the Russians for specific terror missions, but are used to actually control the front lines — from surveillance to targeting.
“You have people underground living like [it’s] 1916, while you have fiber optic and radio-controlled drones buzzing around,” said Riggleman.
In the case of fiber optic drones, Ukraine must deploy foot patrols — placing its soldiers between the Russians and its civilians. Fiber optic drones cannot be jammed. They cannot be detected. There is no electromagnetic signature. It all runs through wire, “so you have to have people between the drone operator and the civilian targets,” said Harbaugh.
The best way right now to shoot down drones is with a Kalashnikov … or with a .50 cal,” said Riggleman. “I actually got to do that training, and even in a simulated environment, I was lucky to get 20 to 30%. These guys [have] got to be on target every time.”
The short but impactful film delivers a stark warning to America and its allies: one must adapt — and quickly — in order to survive.
Claire Barrett is an editor and military history correspondent for Military Times. She is also a World War II researcher with an unparalleled affinity for Sir Winston Churchill and Michigan football.
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