The rate of innovation and the economics of war in Ukraine are changing almost daily. On 7 September, Russia carried out its largest drone campaign of the war, launching 805 Iranian-designed Shahed drones and decoys against Ukraine. A US Army study found that Russia’s way of war relied on mass, rapid adaptation, and economies of scale. Ukrainian drone pilots earn points for kills, with certain targets like enemy drone pilots having higher rewards. Moscow has also been forced to learn that the economics of war favour cheap drones over costly air defences, which cannot keep pace with mass drone attacks.