Near the village of Novobakhmetevo, almost 60 km (37 miles) from the front line in Ukraine, a Russian Geran 2 specially modified drone destroyed a mobile HIMARS launcher. Modern drone warfare is fast evolving, and Russia is keeping up with technology changes, although it lacks critical components.
HIMARS is one of the best US systems deeded to Ukraine. The HIMARS carries one pod with either six guided multiple launch rocket system rockets or one army tactical missile system missile.
ATACMS is a conventional surface-to-surface artillery weapon system capable of striking targets well beyond the range of existing Army cannons, rockets and other missiles. ATACMS missiles are fired from the HIMARS and MLRS M270 platforms. ATACMS has a range of around 300 km (186 miles).
While far from the front line, ATACMS strikes can be called in by field commanders. With a 500 lb. blast fragmentation warhead, ATACMS can cause considerable damage. Newer ATACMS missiles can hit targets within a few meters of the ultimate aimpoint.
Once launched, ATACMS are difficult to intercept. Russia has claimed intercepts of ATACMS, but Ukraine has disputed that ATACMS have been shot down.
The Russian air defenses that can, in theory, stop attacks include:
- the S-400 Triumf, Russia’s premier long-range system, which uses advanced radars like the 92N6 to track high-speed ballistic targets and can fire multiple interceptor types (like the 48N6 series) specifically designed for ballistic missile defense;
- the S-300V / S-300VM (Antey-2500), the “V” variant, which, unlike the standard S-300, was purpose-built by the Soviet Union to intercept tactical ballistic missiles and which is often considered more effective against ATACMS than the standard S-300P series;
- the Buk-M3, a medium-range system which has a shorter reach, but is highly mobile and has been credited in some reports with “clean hits” on ATACMS due to its fast reaction time and specialized interceptors; and
- the Pantsir-S1/S2 which is typically used as a “point defense” system to protect larger batteries (like the S-400). It uses a combination of rapid-fire cannons and short-range missiles to catch targets that leak through the long-range umbrella.
The problem for the Russians is that most of its premier air defense systems protect Russian territory and are kept far back from the battlefield. ATACMS flies fast, around Mach 3 (3,700 km/h or 2,300 mp/h). An air defense system far from the battlefield, even if it detects an ATACMS launch, probably is too far back to carry out an intercept before the ATACMS slams into its target.
In practice this means that the best answer to the ATACMS threat for the Russians is to locate and destroy ATACMS launchers. The Russians can do this with heavy strike weapons such as Iskander-M missiles, provided the ATACMS is not on the move. Using Iskanders is very expensive: each missile costs between $2.3 and $2.4 million.
Ballistic missiles are not good at hitting moving targets. HIMARS with ATACMS is carried on a 5 ton medium tactical truck (or it can be carried on a specialized tracked vehicle). Using drones against ATACMS is possible, but Ukraine until recently had a good record in intercepting Russian drones or jamming their communications, making it difficult for drone operators to fix their aim point in flight as the drone approaches a HIMARS.
If an incoming threat is detected, it is not difficult to move HIMARS because it is on a wheeled vehicle (in the case of those sent to Ukraine).
The Russians have tried a number of solutions, but the two that seem most effective are drones equipped with artificial intelligence or drones equipped with non-jammable electronics, or ideally both.
AI-equipped Russian drones have been identified in operation in Ukraine, some of them apparently equipped with foreign supplied parts including NVIDIA chips. Most common among these is the NVIDIA Jetson TX2.
The TX2 is a “System-on-Module” (SoM) that allows the drone to process video feeds in real-time. It can recognize a target (like a tank or artillery piece) and “lock on” autonomously, even if the radio link to the operator is severed by electronic warfare.
Recently the TX2 is being replaced by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano / Orin Series in some Russian drones. This processor provides up to 40–80 trillions of operations per second of AI performance. This allows the drone to compare the ground it sees with pre-loaded satellite imagery, making it “immune” to GPS jamming because it doesn’t need a satellite signal to know where it is.
Because Jetson chips are designed for “edge AI” (like robotics and smart cameras), many of them fall just below the high-performance thresholds that trigger an automatic US export ban. This makes it easier to ship to legally for “civilian use” to China, from where they are often diverted to Russia.
Russian drones are also showing up with non-jammable electronics including airborne modems and modem antennas that are jam resistant. But the most significant development is that Russian drones are appearing with STARLINK terminals.
The latest two successful strikes on HIMARS launchers were carried out by Russian drones with STARLINK terminals.
This was done by a Geran 2 derivative drone with a mini-STARLINK terminal. It used the terminal which fed back high quality imagery to the drone operators and special sensors and electronics that work with terrain mapping, sensors to pick up thermal heat blooms, and the ability to sniff out radar signatures, all of which can be glued together by the drone operator to make sure he is attacking a real HIMARS launcher and not a fake or dummy.
STARLINK is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 150 countries and territories. STARLINK is the backbone of Ukraine’s military communications. STARLINK is the invention of Elon Musk.
STARLINK terminals (all models) are exportable from the US without an individual license to most countries not under a US embargo (such as Russia). Exactly how the Russians were able to get live connectivity accounts from STARLINK remains unknown, but it may be that the accounts were stolen from Ukraine. We do not know how many STARLINKS are in Russia’s hands.
Russian is adopting STARLINK to other drone models including the BM-35. In January 2026, Ukrainian specialists confirmed for the first time that a downed BM-35 long-range kamikaze drone was equipped with a STARLINK terminal. This allowed the drone to be controlled in real-time from Russian territory, making it highly accurate and resistant to ground-based jamming.
STARLINK also allows drones to fly farther because communications can be maintained. For example the Molniya (and Molniya-2) small, fixed-wing loitering munitions are among the first Russian drones using STARLINK. The integration of STARLINK Mini terminals has reportedly extended their operational range from roughly 50 km (31 miles) to over 230 km (143 miles).
The US is starting to use STARLINK in drones, but is behind Ukraine and Russia. In late 2025, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) deployed a new squadron of LUCAS (low-cost uncrewed combat attack system) drones in the Middle East. These drones are equipped with STARLINK terminals, allowing them to maintain stable video feeds and control even in remote areas or under electronic warfare (jamming) conditions.
SpaceX has also developed Starshield specifically for the Pentagon. It uses the same satellite constellation as STARLINK but features “military-grade” encryption and the ability to host classified government payloads. The US Army and Air Force have been integrating these terminals into various unmanned systems.
China has outlawed STARLINK and is developing ways to jam or destroy STARLINK satellites while working on its own alternative satellite clusters for its massive drone arsenal. This includes
- Qianfan (Thousand Sails) which, so far, deploys about 100 satellites, with a goal of 15,000 in future;
- Guowang (SatNet), currently in testing, with a planned 13,000 satellites; and
- Honghu-3, around 10,000 satellites in the planning stages under development by Chinese companies.
China also has extensive AI capabilities and access to US AI technology and products, made far easier by recent Trump administration liberalization of AI products, especially NVIDIA, for China.
Russia lacks the industrial and commercial infrastructure so it must acquire components and capabilities from outside, including critical parts from the United States and NATO countries.
The Russians say they are going to build a STARLINK-type system of their own, but Russia’s space launch capabilities have fallen behind, especially when it comes to reusable launchers, a critical Space-X capability.
Even so, Russia is competing effectively in the drone race and showing considerable ability to knock out important weapons such as HIMARS using low cost drones.
Asia Times senior correspondent Stephen Bryen is a former US deputy undersecretary of defense. This article is republished permisison from his Substack, Weapons and Strategy.
I wonder if Russian AI is also drunk and incompetent