The Ukraine is a testing ground for new toys....

[kentuck]

..of the Soviet and American militaries.

How long until we see American drones over the Soviet-backed rebels? Can they be taken down with one of those SAMs? It's just a matter of time until someone finds an anti-drone weapon.

What kind of toys will they try next?

[joshcryer]

1. Drones are very easily shot down.

But they can operate at a distance that the rebels probably can't spot them even with Buk. It requires a lot more tech to track drones because of how small they are. But once they are tracked, they can be shot down easily.

[The Magistrate]

2. More Like A Last Hurrah For Re-Treads, Sir

The equipment showing so far is all old line, clean off the cosmoline stuff....

[kentuck]

4. I heard on the tube...

That those Buk missiles could go up to 25 miles. That must of been what they shot down Francis Gary Powers with??

[The Magistrate]

5. Bit Later Than That, Sir

Basic design dates back to the early eighties, I believe, post Viet Nam, anyway: I stopped keeping too current with modern stuff in the late sixties....

[kentuck]

6. The comment was a little tongue in cheek....

Since Powers was flying about 20 miles up in a U2 and was shot down with a Soviet missile, I suppose their rockets may have improved since then?

[malaise]

3. Yep

and what appears to have happened here is that they thought they were shooting down another military aircraft.
McCain was first out to push for bigger better weapons for his side...because who cares who dies as long as men make money.

[Igel]

7. Most of these toys are old.

However, there have been UAVs sighted over the Ukrainian-Russian border, some have been shot down.

The story's been repeated by enough soldiers that it's probably true. The border guards relocate or take up positions. About 10-30 minutes after a UAV flies over, usually returning to Russian airspace, mortar shelling starts, fairly accurated sighted in. In one case it hit a fairly large camp a couple of hours after it was set up, and didn't just target the camp but hit the command center pretty much dead on.

Two UAVs were reported to have been spotted flying around Donets'k, as well, but the soldiers weren't able to shoot them down. Rifles can bring them down if they're low.

These aren't American made.

Post-Soviet weapons have also been used. But while some are new--first shipment to the Russian Army in spring '14 and some confiscated from rebels in Donetsk oblast a week later--most new things are from the '90s and still in use and production until the present or until recently. And the really new ones are just revisions to older tech, nothing new and earthshaking or especially in need of testing.