Russian Media: Ukraine Becomes a Testing Ground for New U.S. Weapons

Reference News Network reported on July 11 According to the website of the Russian "Tsar City" television station on July 5, the use of advanced American technology by Ukraine has surged recently. Ukrainian drone operators have begun to receive real-time images from American satellites via tablets and smartphones. Next, Ukraine will have access to cheap missiles, which will be produced in a "McDonald's-style" manner. This means that in the near future, the attacks on Russia will not only involve hundreds or thousands of drones but also hundreds or thousands of missiles.

Frontline Ukrainian operators have started to receive images from American commercial satellites directly, rather than through higher military authorities. According to The Wall Street Journal, data from space can be transmitted to the drone operators' laptops, tablets, or smartphones in just 15 minutes. This enables operators to make rapid tactical decisions. This technology integrates drones, ground and aerial transport, sensors, cameras, and personnel into the same network. It is a product developed jointly by two American companies and one Dutch company.

The Wall Street Journal reported that this new system has reduced tasks that previously took weeks to complete to just a few hours. For example, this spring, the Ukrainian military reportedly destroyed Russian facilities worth billions of dollars in just two and a half weeks using this system.

Between April and June, Ukrainian operators used the "Wasp Visual Control System" to shoot down over 600 aerial targets, including "Geranium" jet drones. Moreover, these targets were shot down using inexpensive FPV drones.

The past few months have highlighted two clear objectives of the U.S. in the Ukraine war. One is the widespread application of the latest technological achievements, and the other is to minimize the costs of military technology.

Currently, the Trump administration allocates nearly half of the military budget to research and development. Interestingly, it is not the U.S. military that is the first to use these R&D results, but the Ukrainian military.

The "Wasp" drones equipped with satellite navigation and AI electro-optical guidance systems will not officially enter service with the U.S. military until May 2026. However, contracts to supply hundreds of thousands of "Wasp" drones to Ukraine were signed as early as July 2025—just before the U.S.-Russia Anchorage summit. In March 2026, these drones began to be used on a large scale to attack Russian forces in the rear.

As early as 2022, Ukraine was ahead of the U.S. in using the mobile reconnaissance system produced by Palantir Technologies. This system consists of drones, laptops, antennas, and cameras, capable of connecting to 40 satellites. Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp was the first Western business leader to meet with Zelensky after the special military operation began. Currently, Palantir Technologies is implementing six projects in Ukraine, focusing on applying artificial intelligence in the military field.

In the latest news: the U.S. has begun to experiment with a modular production line similar to the McDonald's production model, where workers, after receiving simple training, manually assemble large quantities of low-cost missiles. This essentially means that such weapons will soon appear in Ukraine.

The accuracy of these missiles will not be high, but they do not need to be that precise. The U.S. has already been convinced through the wars in Ukraine and Iran that what matters is the quantity of weapons, their simplicity, and low cost.

Palantir Technologies founder Peter Thiel and Eric Schmidt, head of the company producing "Wasp" drones, are both key figures within Trump's inner circle.

The Americans claim that their winning formula is to wage an artificial intelligence robot war at the lowest cost, using $500 drones to destroy $5 million tanks.

Thiel claims that the combination of drones and artificial intelligence in a military context is frightening and dangerous, but it can change the situation. He stated that he is fighting against the enemies of Christ.

It is pointless to expect these individuals to have good intentions, as war is not only their business but also their faith. (Translated by Li Ran)