'Waiting' drones: Russia adopts new tactic to target vehicles
Photo: "Waiting drones" target vehicles by sound (Getty Images)
Russian forces have adopted a new tactic involving so-called "waiting drones." The drones now hide outside a driver’s field of vision and use sound to detect passing vehicles, Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an adviser to the President of Ukraine on defense technology development, said.
How the new tactic works
According to the expert, Russian forces have begun using "waiting drones" in a new way. The drone positions itself outside the driver’s field of vision and waits, using a microphone to detect passing vehicles.
#Russia changes drone tactics: "waiting" drones can now detect vehicles by sound pic.twitter.com/bXgq3qrfQK
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) August 14, 2026
"The enemy is using a new tactic. The waiting drone hides outside the driver’s field of vision and uses a microphone to detect passing vehicles," Beskrestnov warned.
The main danger of this approach is that the drone does not need to see its target — it reacts to sound. This makes the threat harder to detect, as the driver may not notice the drone until the last moment.
Beskrestnov regularly tracks changes in Russian drone tactics and warns Ukrainians about them.
Earlier, he said Russian forces were increasingly using jet-powered Shahed drones that are faster and more maneuverable to strike targets deep behind the front lines. Russian forces are also carefully studying Ukrainian defense lines and probing for corridors to bypass interceptors.
In the spring, he also warned that Russian forces were launching Parodiya decoy drones to divert the attention of Ukrainian air defenses.
