The Drone Arms Race: Why Warfare Is Becoming a Battle of Factories as Much as Armies

The Drone Arms Race: Why Warfare Is Becoming a Battle of Factories as Much as Armies describes how military competition is shifting from counting platforms to producing drones at industrial scale. The article says the 2020s conflict record shows countries increasingly need the ability to manufacture large numbers of relatively cheap unmanned aircraft and replace them quickly. Ukraine is presented as the clearest example, with its defense industry claiming capacity to produce more than 8 million FPV drones per year through involvement of over 160 companies. It adds that Russia is expanding production and that China dominates the global commercial drone and component supply chain. The United Kingdom and other European countries are described as accelerating their own capabilities, while the United States is looking to Ukrainian technology to speed up its drone industry. Citing the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the article argues demand for armed UAVs is rising and exports and production are occurring faster than before. It also notes Ukrainian claims that FPV drones accounted for more than 60% of Russian losses in 2025, emphasizing the figure is a Ukrainian assessment.