in additional aid for Ukraine, that nation's# domestic arms industry is becoming increasingly## important.

And perhaps the most vital weapons# system it's producing is an army of drones.

Nick Schifrin and videographer# Eric O'Connor the front line in## Southern Ukraine to understand how# drones have transformed this war.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In war, there's never a# safe space.

But, in this war, when the## eyes in the sky are unblinking,# the hunters are also the hunted.

Why are we staying under the trees?

LT. ASHOT ARTIUNIAN, Ukrainian Soldier# (through translator): Because dr there are a lot of drones.

That's why# we constantly need to be under trees.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Lieutenant Ashot# Artiunian's call sign is Doc,## a reference to his Ph.D. in artificial# intelligence.

His day job is leading th volunteer drone unit on Ukraine's southern# front, their weapons, a MacBook Pro,## a tablet with real-time intelligence of Russian# positions, and a Ukrainian drone made of foam.

It's held together with duct tape, but# in a hundred billion-dollar-plus war,## it can help destroy millions of dollars of Russian# equipment.

And above the field of sunflowers## that have become symbol of Ukraine's resistance,# Ukraine's latest homemade invention takes flight.

It's flown by a three-person team# who crowdfund their equipment,## a 23-year-old from Lviv who goes by Gremlin,# call sign Hacker, who we're keeping because his family is under Russian occupation,# and an Lithuanian named Zinger.

In this drone war,## each side tries to jam the other's# drone using electronic warfare.

ZINGER, Ukrainian Soldier: We lost# the view.

They jammed the frequency,## which I cannot disclose.

There's# one frequency.

So we have opportunity to quickly switch to other# frequency, so we continue with the view.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And how often does that## happen, they t ZING NICK SCHIFRIN: Earlier in the war, outside# Bakhmut, they lost nearly a drone a day.

In total,## Ukraine's armed forces has been losing# 10,000 drones a month.

U.S. officials## admit they don't have an answer for# Russia's superior electronic warfare.

ZINGER: The Russians will drive a freaking truck# of this kind of equipment.

It's old-school, yes,## but it's going to be like many times more# powerful than this modern Western equipment.

GREMLIN, Ukrainian Soldier: Yes, actually,# Russian radio electronic warfare is really good.

NICK SCHIFRIN: For two hours, they fly# dozens of miles behind enemy lines,## hunting for Russian vehicles and the# jamming devices that are hunting them.

The live video feedback is black and# white and isn't great quality.

But## there's a second higher-quality camera on the# drone that they watch afterward back a GREMLIN: Now it's the most -- probably one# of the most important parts of our job.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In the room where they sleep# in an undisclosed location 10 miles away,## the team combs through video# their drone just filmed.

They compare today's video with satellite or drone# images from yesterday, like this Russian vehicle.

GREMLIN: Here, we noticed it's big truck, used# for bringing ammo or something like that.

So,## now we will put it into the system as a target.# I put the target, the coordinates of the targets,## put the information about it, and# then I upload this information.

It's definitely something new.# We haven't seen it yesterday.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And then they notice their# nemesis, the vehicle that jams their drone.

GREMLIN: We suspect that it can be# radio-electronic warfare system.## Looking at the shadows, you can# notice that there are seen antennas.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Oh, wow.

They sent the image a few hours later, another drone watched as a# Ukrainian shell destroyed the Russian vehicle.

Drones have changed this war and warfare,# as Ukrainians have bragged about online with## highly produced videos, from small# bombs dropped from drones to FPV,## or first-person view, drones that# can crash into military vehicles or## fly through the back of disabled vehicles.# Cheap drones destroy expensive equipment.

But it goes both ways.

Russian videos show# how Russian drones help stop Ukraine's## counteroffensive.

The U.S. assumed that# Ukraine could succeed by combining the## massing of vehicles with the movement# of troops.

Russian drones helped find## and destroy the Western supplies that were# supposed to break through Russian defenses.

And Russian drones menace Ukrainian buildings# and critical infrastructure as far west as Lviv.

In many ways, is this a war of drones?

MYKHAILO FEDOROV, Ukrainian Minister For Digital# Transformation (through translator): Today a tomorrow depends on how many drones there# will be and how they will be used.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Mykhailo Fedorov is Ukraine's# deputy prime minister and minister for## digital transformation, who's in charge of# Ukraine's effort to create an army o MYKHAILO FEDOROV (through translator):# An incredibly large industry was born## in Ukraine in one year and has# a large po NICK SCHIFRIN: Is Russia also doing the same?

MYKHAILO FEDOROV (through translator): Yes,# this war and a war of economies.

And whoever# improves the level of de their product will gain an advantage on the# battlefield, will lose less people and will## hit targets more effectively.

We have to do# everything to win the war of technologies.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Ukraine will need to# win that war with its own industry.

This is Airlogix, a drone company in an# undisclosed warehouse in Kyiv.

It's o domestic manufacturers that have increased local# production more than 100 times.

Before the war,## they designed cargo drones.

Today,# they work for Ukraine's military.

VITALLI KOLESNICHENKO, Founder and Manager,# Airlogix (through translator): Basically, we## NICK SCHIFRIN: Vitalli Kolesnichenko# is Airlogix's founder and manager.

VITALLI KOLESNICHENKO (through translator):# Wherever you look in every garage,## something is being made for the dr ones.

They are being developed everywhere# in Ukraine.

I believe that the start of Ukraine becoming the# world center of drone development.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Airlogix produces 12 to 15 drones# per month.

One of their newest is lightweight,## its parts cut with a laser out of lightweight# wood and with a 3-D printer out of rubber.

Their flagship is a reconnaissance drone# called the GOR that can fly for 25 miles## at over 10,000 feet.

It's launched by catapult and## uses artificial intelligence to# try and track possible targets.

Do you know what your long-range# drones are being used for?

VITALLI KOLESNICHENKO (through# translator): No.

It's clas (LAUGHTER) lines inside Russia.

They have# also struck the heart of Moscow.

Long term, developing long-range# drones that scale and bringing the## war to Russia's elite may be the best way# to turn the war's tide.

And Ukraine also used naval drones to attack Russian# ships.

That has helped Ukraine push the## Russian fleet far enough back to open# up Ukrainian Black Sea shipping lanes.

But Ukraine has a long way to go to build enough# drones.

And, as U.S. financing is threatened,## it will be increasingly up to Ukraine's# domestic industry to help win a drone## war where innovation and adaptation# happens every day on the front line.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin# in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine.