In Ukraine, about nine in 10 Russian drones have been shot down by advanced air defences, according to various estimates.
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Ukrainian air force data suggested that about 15 per cent of drones had penetrated its defences between April and June — rising from just 5 per cent previously.
But a group of Chinese aerospace engineers and defence researchers have now proposed a radical technological enhancement for combat drones that may dramatically increase their ability to survive to nearly 90 per cent.
At the heart of the proposal was an innovative concept: fitting compact, side-mounted rocket boosters to small or medium-sized drones so they can perform instantaneous, high-G manoeuvres in the final seconds before a missile impact.
According to the researchers, this “terminal evasion” system allowed drones to perform abrupt, unpredictable course changes that even the most sophisticated missiles could not track or follow.
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In extensive digital simulations detailed in a paper published in the Chinese defence journal Acta Armamentarii last month, the system saw a huge improvement in survival rates, passing 87 per cent.