Ukraine's experience in using drones against Russian forces has helped the U.S. military avoid strategic mistakes in building its own unmanned systems.

Axar.az informs that this was reported by Air and Space Forces Magazine.

It is noted that in September 2023, the Pentagon launched the "Replicator" program. Under this program, U.S. troops are planned to be equipped with UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and counter-drone systems.

According to Aditi Kumar, Deputy Director of the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit, the first iteration of this project – providing thousands of cheap, autonomous platforms in all combat domains – is expected to be completed by July 2025:

"After this, the second iteration begins – the supply of counter-drone systems."

Discussing the challenges of implementing the "Replicator" program, Kumar admitted that Ukraine's experience has been very beneficial for the Pentagon:

"Ukraine’s experience has “been very helpful to us,” demonstrating that “software upgrades need to happen on a three- to four-week timeline, which is incredibly fast and has a cost,” she said.

Historically, she said, the Pentagon has not funded software aggressively or pushed updates quickly. That has to change with “significantly different types and magnitude of investment.”