Logistics are a nightmare, especially on the battlefield
31 August 2026
It is around midnight along the Dnipro/Donetsk border region of the Ukrainian frontline as myself and the two soldiers flick on our red lights—our only source of illumination, as even the moon hides from us tonight. Rushing out to meet the newly arrived Skyfall Vampire Drone, the men of the 11th Separate Assault Battalion of the 59th Brigade quickly get to work swapping out batteries and hooking up this night bomber’s payload—however, the target is not Russian forward operating positions or supply hubs; no, this drone is here to target friendly infantry positions.
Two bags filled with food, water, and other supplies are locked into the bombing bays before we head back into the bunker, with the distinctive sound of drone propellers spinning up as we do.
I’m going to tell you an unsexy truth: logistics determine the outcome of wars. You can have the best-equipped army, superior numbers, and the fanciest technology, but if you cannot feed your men, restock their ammo, or give them clear and reliable water, you’ve lost. The logistics process is an overlooked and often boring part of warfare that most people don’t consider, but with the ever-evolving nature of drone warfare and the sky buzzing with FPVs, it is innovation or death.
Supply chain lifelines
“Man, nerds ruined war!” I am enthusiastically told by one anonymous U.S. foreign infantryman here in Ukraine. He and I casually talk over drinks about how drones have taken over the battlefield; “I haven’t been in a proper shootout in like a year,” he laments. Drones can reach deep along the frontline, with some drones able to go up to 20 km (~12 miles), and heading to a position even half that distance makes you just as likely a target as being in a bunker on the zero line. Infantry is still a critical part of this war, as strikes against logistical hubs and those porting supplies show, but with the rise of drones on the battlefield, this has set forth challenges that were not present at all in 2022.
Units along the front have told me that any ground movements to and from positions can sometimes be a full 14 days apart, and that is under the best circumstances. This means everything from the regular rotation of soldiers in and out of positions to getting resupplied can potentially be a two-week wait. This is not to mention soldiers who remain in positions from upwards of a month or more. Most tragically, this includes getting anyone critically injured and in need of medical help out to a medical facility. While I was working with the 100th Brigade at their medical stabilization point near Kostyantynivka, the “stab” point saw absolutely no one brought in wounded. The only knock on the door came when a soldier pulled up to request fresh body bags.
Logistical support for the infantrymen in these positions is critical, but with struggling manpower, limited resources, and an ever more dangerous battlefield, getting to them can equally be a hefty gamble and an unavoidable risk. A driver, a reinforced vehicle, and a literal truckload of supplies are a lot to gamble on a supply run that has the same odds as a shady casino—especially when that could still leave frontline infantry unsupplied. That is why, as is often the case here, when drones are the issue, they are also the solution—they are a relatively low-cost and reliable method to fill this gap and minimize the risk to all involved.
My journey with the 11th separate assault battalion began at their command and supply hub. Nonperishable canned food, sausages, and plastic containers of bottled water are prepped to be loaded into a truck along with drop bombs and anti-vehicle mines. The new reality of drone logistics has seen the team I am embedded with doing triple duty—feeding infantry, attacking Russian positions, and laying mines.
Commander Leo places these mines in cloth bags before grabbing a few drop bombs the size of his arms and lays them in the back of the truck. The command center’s adopted puppy, Charlie, runs around him as he does this, nipping at his pants legs asking to play. We have ample time with Charlie as we must wait until nightfall for our chance to head to position, as while this does not halt the risk of FPVs, it at least makes it harder for us to be targeted, unfortunately, Charlie declined to comment on the record.
Commander Leo personally takes me to the position—this truck is armor reinforced and well worn but equipped with two necessary items, a drone jammer and an infrared light to provide nighttime illumination not visible by the naked eye or drone cameras. Attached to the commander’s helmet is an infrared night vision scope that he pulls down over his right eye. Turning off the truck’s headlights, it would seem to most that we are speeding down narrow and twisting roads in complete and utter darkness—and we essentially are. However, traversing these abandoned roads is an average day for Leo, and we arrive at the position as red headlamp-wearing soldiers come from the darkness to greet us.
Prime delivery, Prime target
The supplies brought in are unloaded and quickly moved into the bunker. Built under President Zelenskyy’s mandate, this is a well-enforced bunker, perhaps the most well-built I have ever seen. Steel bar-reinforced wooden frames, multiple rooms, and even guest sleeping areas—this is a warehouse for those closer to the front as much as it is an attack position. As soon as Commander Leo and the drone jammer attached to his truck leave the area, these men in position get to work.
Bottles of water are opened, a small portion is poured out into a hole in the bunker, all air is squeezed out of the bottle, and the cap is placed back with a bit of plastic under it. This is done so that when the drone drops the supplies, the water does not explode open from the fall. Due to smaller drone jammers across infantry positions that cannot be turned off, supplies must be dropped from on high, and certain considerations must be made. Even with this, the bottles of water are wrapped in bubble wrap and placed into green reinforced plastic bags along with rations of nonperishable food, a bag of sausage, a couple small sweets of chocolate, and a dozen packs of the infantryman’s best friend—the trusty cigarette.
These green bags are labeled as to what position they are headed to and weighed—the struggle of logistics crashes against the Vampire drone’s 15 kg weight limit. Sometimes items need to be cut down on or removed to fit this harsh weight limit, as two supply drops are the maximum that can be carried out per flight. Vampire drone teams, especially those engaging in logistical support, want to limit the number of times they return to base with their drone, as there is always a possibility of a Russian night vision FPV spotting the Vampire drone and following it back to position. This is a real threat that is taken seriously by this drone crew, as while the majority of the crew loads up their next supply drop, the pilot closely watches the Vampire drone’s thermal camera for signs they are being tailed.
Upon landing, the crew doff their armor and load up. They grab the supply bags and fresh drone batteries. Red light floods around the drone as batteries are changed and supplies are loaded, each run lasting around an hour with the drone stopping twice so as to descend just out of reach from the infantry squad’s jammer and coordinate the supply drop-off. Radio communication is used to coordinate that someone is on-site and ready to grab supplies and that the drop was made successfully. The video feed of the drone comes in with a heavy amount of interference as it gets closer to the jammer, and sometimes drops are made practically blind. These runs must be fast, as Russian drones are constantly hunting for any sign of Ukrainian positions, and a bag of supplies is as good an indication as any.
That was back in July of 2025 and innovation has only ever advanced, a few groups fighting on the front are now using advanced satellite technology rigged up to their vampire drones. These allow for remote control of the drone in relative safety. That means less soldiers in harm’s way and that if a frontline logistical warehouse is attacked, that does not hurt supplies already in the air. Brigades such as Khyzhak (Predator) of patrol police officers who are fighting on the frontlines use these modified drones for more reliable delivery into sensitive areas where their video feed cannot be easily intercepted or jammed.
Ground teams now must only worry about maintenance, loading supplies, and holding their position. Even the types of positions have changed–where months ago the 11th assault team had to balance supply runs, bombing, and mine laying. Now individual teams are set for these tasks and constantly working to fulfill these same-day delivery requests.
Delivery Complications
Drone logistics are now the norm across the front, from the famous case of a bike being delivered to an injured soldier to the ever-advancing technology of land drones—however, this comes with some growing pains. Soldiers across the front face hellish conditions every day, and rotation off of position is a key part of keeping people in a good mindset to continue the fight, but being able to extend times between position rotations with drone deliveries risks overworking an already tired unit, leading to a potentially fatal lapse in judgment or mental breakdown.
Despite the potential negatives, using drones for logistical roles offers a solution for Ukraine’s struggling manpower while offering a far faster delivery than someone in a truck driving position-to-position along the front. It is far more practical with the on-the-ground conditions that Ukraine faces to use robotic forces such as land-based drones to haul supplies across a field or send them in the air, as seen with these Vampire drones.
The traditional role of the sergeant’s least favorite grunts proves too dangerous and costly in this new era of war, and as many young Ukrainian commanders have told me, the priority needs to change to prioritize the lives of those soldiers who currently serve—and this does just that. It hopefully means that more lives can be saved and that fewer soldiers face risks like those of Commander Leo, who was hit by an FPV drone driving supplies to a position just a few months after my time with him. He survived and has since left the army.
At the end of the day I must come to the conclusion that nerds didn’t ruin war; in fact, they have been the ones winning it since the dawn of time, and this is just the latest evolution of that trend–for better or worse.
