Everyone knew drones would change the nature of modern warfare, they just didn’t foresee exactly how. The war in Ukraine has changed that.

After two years of fighting, the ground war has settled into a stalemate with many of the hallmarks of World War I trench warfare — a raging artillery duel in which both sides are dug in over a clearly defined front line and where often small, tactically insignificant advances come at the cost of horrific losses of troops and equipment.