The US, NATO, and the EU continue to supply weapons to fight off the Russian invaders as the war in Ukraine enters its second month.

Billions of dollars of weapons have been sent to Ukraine by Western countries.

Russian troops are firing rockets, missiles, and artillery in parts of Ukraine despite reports of a Russian retreat.

With the war set to drag on, the US military is looking for ways to provide Ukraine with counter small drones to shoot down Russian drones.

Drones and drone-killers

Ukraine police Russian drone
Ukrainian police officers inspect a downed Russian drone in northwestern Kyiv, March 22, 2022.
FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Unmanned aerial systems have become an important part of warfare. They were developed by the US intelligence agencies and the Pentagon.

During the NATO campaign, they were looking for Serbian war criminals. During the war on terror, drones like the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper played a more significant role in military and intelligence operations.

They were increasingly used for close air support and precision-strike missions with weapons like the Hellfire missiles, though they were often used for civilian casualties.

For hours, drones could stay over a target and watch the situation on the ground, giving commanders on the ground and at more distant headquarters tactical intelligence and awareness of conditions on the ground.

A Green Beret assigned to a National Guard unit told Insider that drones can be dirty but deadly. A swarm of them can stop an armored column.

Ukraine soldier shoots at Russian drone
A Ukrainian serviceman shoots at a Russian drone from a trench at the front line east of Kharkiv, March 31, 2022.
FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Some of the most dangerous drones are in the skies over Ukraine. Reports say that Ukrainians are using them to wreak havoc on Russian forces.

The Russians are also using them. There are Zala KUB-BLA loitering munitions, which have a 7-pound warhead. The Ukrainians have been able to destroy a few of them through counter-drone weapons, such as the Ukrainian Bukovel-AD, an electronic-warfare device mounted on a truck.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian forces have shot down 85 drones.

The Green Beret, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said that drones are being used on the battlefield.

The drones are being shot down in two different ways.

The standard method of destroying them in the air is air-to-air or anti-aircraft fire. Even with small-arms fire, drones are easy targets from the ground.

The US military's drones, such as the RQ-4 and the MQ-9, are far out of reach of small-arms fire.

Radio-frequency energy can be used to shoot down a drone.

Anti-drone weapons for Ukraine

Soldiers dronebuster counter-unmanned aerial system
US soldiers use a Dronebuster during an exercise at Erbil Air Base in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, April 24, 2020.
US Army/Spc. Angel Ruszkiewicz

The Green Beret told Insider that the anti-drone systems were important because of the rapid adoption of drones.

The US is considering two types of anti-drone weapons, according to a report.

The Dronebuster is a lightweight counter-drone weapon that can be used against commercial drones. It uses radio-frequency energy to overwhelm the control frequencies of the drones and cause them to stop or return to their operator. It can cause a drone to hover, land, or crash.

The only handheld anti-drone weapon authorized by the US military is the Dronebuster. It can be used in a fixed site or as a handheld unit.

The Dronekiller is a rifle-sized counter-drone weapon that uses radio-frequency energy to interrupt a drone's command-and-control signals or its guidance, causing it to land or return to its operator. It has a range of 1,100 yards and can spot a drone.

A defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran, and a graduate of the University of Baltimore, are some of the things that Stavros Atlamazoglou is.