Ukraine's FPV drones are getting more lethal for Russians

Ukraine is tinkering with its fleet of first-person-view drones, one of the most popular drones in its battle with Russia in the air, to do more damage to Moscow's armored vehicles as Kyiv struggles with dwindling ammunition stocks from its Western allies, according to Newsweek.
Ukraine has said it developed armor-piercing ammunition, known as explosive-formed projectiles, compatible with its fleet of FPV drones.
According to Ukrainian media, it is designed for use against military vehicles with some measure of armor, including armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery. The ammunition can travel at 1,800 meters per second, according to Ukrainian sources.
Explosive-formed projectiles, or penetrators, are not a new technology, but a version of standard armor-piercing-shaped charge rounds, said military expert David Hambling.
"EFPs penetrate less armor than other shaped charges, which is why they are less popular," he told Newsweek. "However, they provide a much longer range."
The main advantage for the ammunition on Ukraine's FPV drones lies in Kyiv's operators being able to trigger the round from afar. "EFPs will also zip right through cages or netting which is often used to protect vehicles from FPVs," he added.
FPV drones quickly became almost emblematic of Ukraine's efforts with unmanned aerial vehicles. They can be used to record dramatic battlefield footage where the drone careens towards Russian vehicles before exploding, or deployed as reconnaissance tools to guide artillery strikes.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Kyiv's Minister of Digital Transformation, heading up Ukraine's drone efforts against Russia, told Newsweek in December that "they work sometimes even more efficiently than artillery."
As concern deepens over Ukraine's scarce stockpile of ammunition, the new EFP ammunition attached to FPV drones may offer some help in bridging the gap between Ukraine's ammunition stores and the reality of how many shells it needs.