The line between consumer and military technology is blurring, and nowhere is that shift more visible than in Ukraine. Soldiers have combined toy drones and open-source autopilot programs to make explosive "kamikaze"-flyers capable of destroying tanks or aircraft. Civilians are using off-the-shelf 3D printers to fabricate cheap bombs and ship them in mass to the frontlines.
Business Beyond looks at the growing ease of producing simple war material, speaking with drone-makers in Ukraine about the rudimentary nature of many of the devices and visiting volunteers who print weapons from their homes – and even schools – to support the war effort.
"It's basically a new way of using commercial technology and militarization of commercial technology," conflict researcher Kateryna Bondar tells DW. “Which I think on the one hand is thrilling and on the other hand is frightening.