The war between Russia and Ukraine is the first real-world conflict between nations using drones extensively.

As part of a war that began with Russian tanks crossing Ukraine’s borders, World War I-style trenches dug into the ground, and Soviet-manufactured artillery pounding the terrain, soldiers now observe the battlefield on a small satellite-linked monitor while their palm-sized drones hover just out of sight.

The fight set off by an 18th-century emperor-style land grab in Ukraine has turned into a digital-age struggle for technological aerial supremacy, with hundreds of reconnaissance and attack drones flying overhead each day — a turning point in military history.

Every phase of combat between Russia and Ukraine is integrated with drone fleets, aerial defenses, and jamming systems, which separate them by miles. Drones are utilized in this war to connect the physical distance between the adversaries, which are frequently separated by miles.