How drones came to decide the war in Ukraine, and why no army has found the weapon that stops them

Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries and transport well behind the front lines — a hundred kilometers away or more — have forced Russia’s Defense Ministry to launch an overhaul of the country’s air defenses.

Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has promised that by November, Russia will complete a new integrated, layered air defense system capable of countering drones across the country’s entire territory, from the front lines to the deep rear.

And Russia isn’t alone in struggling with drones.

Ukraine, though it has built an “integrated and layered” system — based on precisely the principles Belousov describes — still can’t protect either its troops or its rear.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Iranian drones (and those of pro-Iranian proxies) continue to attack U.S. and allied military and civilian targets.

The result: drones have altered the dynamics of two major wars at once: decisively defeating an opponent has become impossible, and conflicts inevitably grind to a stalemate.

So what technologies could reverse this trend and help in the fight against drones? ...