By Will Croxton
March 29, 2026 / 7:33 PM EDT / CBS News
This week on 60 Minutes, Holly Williams and producer Erin Lyall examined how drone technology — on land, sea and in the air — is reshaping the battlefield in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Reporters described an innovation-driven arms race where unmanned systems are increasingly decisive.
“There are estimates that 80% of combat casualties on both sides are now caused by drones,” Williams said on 60 Minutes Overtime. She and Lyall reported that the front line has become a broad “kill zone,” about 10 miles wide, where anyone in range risks being tracked and struck by drones.
The reporting included interviews with Ukrainian drone makers, U.S. investors, a U.S. Army captain tasked with translating battlefield lessons for American forces, and Oleksandr Kamyshin, who helped organize Ukraine’s drone program. Vitali Kolesnichenko, founder of Ukrainian firm Airlogix, described constant pressure to outpace Russian countermeasures: “Every month we need — even a couple weeks maybe, you know — we need to iterate,” he said, calling the contest a cat-and-mouse race that requires breakthroughs.
Many sources told Williams the next battlefield shift will be swarm technology: many drones operating together under coordinated control. U.S. Army Capt. Ronan Sefton, part of the Ukraine Lessons Learned Task Force, explained that swarms reduce cognitive load on operators and let one person manage many vehicles. “It’s debated often as to what [swarm technology] actually means. But it’s really just a lot of drones working together at one time,” he said. When Williams likened them to “a swarm of bees,” Sefton replied, “Exactly…. it is scary. It should concern us all.”
Investors and veterans involved in supporting Ukrainian drone efforts expressed both fascination and alarm about the pairing of AI and drones. Two U.S. Marine veterans and investors, Lenore Karafa and William McNulty, said current systems use AI to assist targeting but warned against removing humans from lethal decisions. “There always needs to be a human in the loop,” McNulty said. He described a possible future in which a missile disperses FPV drones that autonomously hunt anything that moves, calling that “a scary scenario.”
Oleksandr Kamyshin, who transitioned from heading Ukraine’s railways in 2022 to overseeing the country’s drone program, said both Russia and Ukraine view swarms as a major future advantage. He noted Ukraine follows European Union guidelines that require humans to make and be accountable for lethal-force decisions. Asked whether humans might someday be outside that process, Kamyshin replied, “I don’t know.” On whether the first side to master swarms would gain a major edge, he said, “In my belief, yes… both countries are close. None got there yet.” Williams noted the rivalry felt like the Cold War; Kamyshin corrected her: “No. It’s a hot war.”
The 60 Minutes segment highlighted technological, ethical and strategic questions as drone capabilities evolve — especially when AI multiplies speed and scale on the battlefield. Sources emphasized the need to balance innovation with legal and moral constraints, even as combatants race to develop systems that could change how wars are fought.
This video was produced by Will Croxton and edited by Nelson Ryland. Jane Greeley was the broadcast associate. Reporting by Holly Williams and Erin Lyall.
Additional video courtesy of the 13th Khartiia Operational Brigade; Ukraine Patrol Police; Khyzhak Brigade; Security Service of Ukraine via Storyful; Ivanov Alexander Borisovich; Gorovyi Igor Anatolyovich; Suspilne; VORON Battalion 100th Mechanized Brigade; AFP; Getty Images; and the Ukrainian Armed Forces via Storyful.
In: Ukraine, Drones