Hyderabad: Ukraine's Operation Spider Web is a red letter day for the modern drone warfare and June 1, 2025 will be remembered as the day when Ukraine through its drones challenged the traditional air power strategy. Ukraine rather than relying on long range missiles and fighter planes, used refitted drones to hit targets deep inside Russia, thereby writing a new chapter in drone warfare.
How Operation Spider Web was executed?
The operation was named 'Spider Web' for its wide geographic coverage across remote Russian locations previously thought to be beyond the reach of Ukraine’s long-range drone capabilities. Four key Russian military air bases - Olenya Air Base (Murmansk Oblast), Diaghilevo Air Base (Ryazan Oblast), Belaya Air Base (Irkutsk Oblast) and Ivanovo Air Base (Ivanovo Oblast) - that played pivotal roles in strategic aviation infrastructure was targeted.
According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, planning for the operation reportedly began over 18 months prior to its execution. Ukrainian operatives smuggled around 150 small strike drones, modular launch systems, and 300 explosive payloads into Russia through covert logistical routes. The drones were concealed inside wooden modular cabins, which were then loaded onto standard cargo trucks. About 36 drones were placed in each container.
Ukraine's SSU (the Security Service of Ukraine) used covert logistics conducted through Russian territory, involving unwitting Russian civilian participants. As part of the operation’s deception strategy, the SSU reportedly recruited Russian truck drivers to deliver the mobile drone launchers camouflaged as standard cargo loads. These drivers were instructed to arrive at specific times and park at predesignated locations in the vicinity of Russian strategic air bases, including fuel stations and isolated roadside areas.
At the designated time, the roofs of the cabins were remotely opened, and the drones launched directly from within the trucks. This minimised the distance between launch and impact, allowing the drones to bypass Russia’s layered air defence systems—including Pantsir and S-300 units—before they could react. Altogether,117 drones were launched during the operation. All personnel involved in the operation were successfully moved from Russian territory to Ukraine prior to drone launch.
Russia lost 40 high-value aircraft—including strategic bombers Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, and A-50 planes used for launching and coordinating missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. The drones hit some 35 per cent of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, causing an estimated $7 billion worth of damage in total.
Role of AI in Operation Spider Web Execution
In Operation Spider Web, Ukraine demonstrated a hybrid approach to drone warfare that combined remote human control with elements of autonomy and potentially AI-assisted functionality. The First-person-view (FPV) drones used in the operation were remotely controlled through Russian mobile telecommunications networks, including 4G and LTE connections. These networks provided sufficient bandwidth to support real-time video transmission and command inputs across vast distances, allowing Ukrainian operators to manage drone flights from outside Russian territory. This setup avoided the need for any physical ground control stations or nearby operators.
These systems were installed on single-board computers (like Raspberry Pi), connected to LTE modems and standard webcams for operator vision. Ukrainian planners reportedly used decommissioned Soviet aircraft—on display at the museum—to train AI systems in recognising structural weak points, such as underwing pylons or fuel tank locations.
What are First-Person-View (FPV) drones?
- FPV drones are small flying machines with cameras on the front. The camera sends live video to special goggles worn by the operator, who sees what the drone sees, like sitting in the drone’s cockpit. This allows for precise flying, even through tight spaces or over rough ground. Once released, the smaller drones can autonomously locate and hit high-value targets, including aircraft, air defense systems, and critical infrastructure — all without using GPS and any human intervention.
- Originally designed for drone racing and hobbies, FPV drones are now being used in war. They are often fitted with explosives and flown straight into enemy targets, where they explode on impact.
- Non-reliance on GPS for navigation, is one of the key features of the AI-powered FPV drones
- These drones are attractive because they’re cheap to make, but can destroy armoured vehicles or damage enemy positions.
- Ukraine has turned FPV drones into powerful weapons in its fight against Russia. Soldiers use them to attack tanks, military vehicles, and even trenches.
- Cost of drones: Estimation of the cost of an FPV drone with a payload at around $500. A single mission with this AI drone system costs around $10,000 (Rs 8.5 lakh) —much less than launching a missile, which can be 300 to 500 times more expensive.
- GPS-independent navigation: Operates without relying on satellite-based GPS, enhancing resilience against jamming or signal loss.
- SmartPilot system: Utilises advanced visual-inertial navigation, interpreting camera data to determine position and movement.
- LiDAR technology: LiDAR technology complements the SmartPilot system, boosting precision in complex or cluttered environments.
INDIA FPVs
The Indian Army has successfully developed and tested its first First-Person View (FPV) drone equipped with an impact-based, kamikaze-role anti-tank munition. This project, initiated in August 2024, was a collaboration between the Army's Fleur-De-Lis Brigade and the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh. Five drones, each costing Rs 1.4 lakh, were inducted initially and 95 more will be added later.
Implications for Global Planning
Militaries worldwide are now reassessing the security of their static assets—airfields, command centres, radar stations.
The scale and sophistication of Spider Web showed that small actors can deploy strategic effects with minimal resources, particularly if they combine tactical innovation with covert logistics.
The cost-efficiency of drones also raises procurement question for defence planners. A single modern fighter jet can cost $80–120 million. A bomber even more. By contrast, a $500 drone that can incapacitate such an aircraft delivers an almost unmatchable return on investment.
A Few Of Ukraine's Attacks on Russia
- Kursk invasion (2024 and 2025): Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on the Kursk region on August 6, 2024, taking Moscow by surprise. At the height of the incursion, Ukrainian forces claimed nearly 1,400 square kilometres (540 square miles) of Kursk — roughly twice the size of Singapore. By the start of 2025, Russia had most of the territory it lost in Kursk before Ukraine launched a second wave of attacks in January 2025. Kyiv suffered a major setback earlier 2025 after Trump temporarily cut off all military and intelligence assistance. By early March, 2025 Russia had recaptured most of the territory.
- Crimea Bridge attacks (2022 and 2023): In October 2022, a truck explosion that Russia blamed on Ukraine blew up a part of the bridge. Russia repaired the damage, and Putin tried to revive the symbolism of 2018, again driving across it, this time in a Mercedes. But Ukraine would strike again. In July 2023, the bridge that serves as a crucial supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine was blown up. Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said the strike was carried out by two Ukrainian sea drones.
- Kremlin attack (2023): In the dead of night in early May 2023, the ultimate symbol of Russian power for centuries — the Kremlin — came under attack, as flashes of light from small explosions over the red building’s citadel were seen in images and grainy video around the world. Moscow said that two Ukrainian drones had been used in the attack on Putin’s residence, but had been disabled by electronic defences.
- Black Sea Fleet attacks (2023): In September 2023, Ukraine launched a series of attacks on occupied Crimea, using drones and missiles to target key facilities of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol. Ukraine hit the Black Sea Fleet command headquarters and claimed to have killed 34 officers, including fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov. A further 105 soldiers were reportedly wounded.
