Recently, in a discussion on social network X (formerly Twitter), technology billionaire Elon Musk warned that future wars will be battles between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The American billionaire believes that UAVs are the future of war.
“The drone swarm wars that are coming will blow our minds,” billionaire Elon Musk commented on X. Previously, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has repeatedly warned that UAVs represent the future of warfare. Commenting on X in June, Musk declared that the wars of the future will be fought by drones.
Speaking at the CEO Summit organized by The Wall Street Journal in London (UK) last year, billionaire Elon Musk also commented that any future war between advanced countries, or at least countries capable of using UAVs, will be wars fought with UAVs.
Drones will be the future of warfare.
The prevalence of UAVs in recent conflicts has increased significantly. In the conflict in Ukraine, UAVs have emerged as a particularly important means of warfare. UAVs are used in complex missions such as surveillance, reconnaissance, and even targeting with high precision and efficiency.
In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kiev would create an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UFS) force that would use UAVs in attacks after realizing that “drones, unmanned systems, have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the air and at sea.” Four months later, on June 11, Ukraine officially introduced the UFS force. According to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk, the establishment of the UFS – a new branch of the Ukrainian military focused on drone warfare – will allow Kiev to attack targets up to 1,600km away.
Russia is also placing great emphasis on UAV production. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia plans to increase its total UAV production to 1.4 million units this year, about 10 times higher than in 2023.