Zaluzhnyi: The wars of the future will be decided by cheap but highly effective technologies
24 July 2025 14:55
The future war will not require massive armies, but cheap and highly efficient technologies. Its outcome will be determined by the latest weapons and the ability to quickly master the tactics of their use. This was stated in an interview with LB.ua by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to him, NATO standards require three missiles per target. However, in a situation where up to 500 enemy drones can arrive in Ukraine every day, such approaches are too costly.
“We need 1,500 missiles a day. One drone costs $50,000, and a missile for IRIS-T costs $800,000. Patriot produces 200 units a year. And we have 500 targets a day! What country would fight like that? The future war is about ultra-cheap means with ultra-high efficiency,” Zaluzhny said.
He emphasized that Ukraine now needs not so much soldiers as “brains and a strategy for building” that will allow it to quickly master new weapons systems.
“The Roman Empire, the Mongol-Tatar yoke, the French and Hungarian empires were formed thanks to new weapons and the rapid mastery of their tactics. Ukraine has not been able to do this quickly, for various reasons. But this is what the war of the future will look like. If someone is expecting a million soldiers to get chickens out of the barn, they are very much mistaken,” the ambassador emphasized.
Ukraine is already opening up the possibility of testing the latest foreign-made weapons at the front. On July 11, the European Commission and Kyiv launched the BraveTech EU initiative to develop defense innovations based on combat experience and deepen cooperation between Ukraine and the EU.
