> These are not passive devices that operate autonomously
My understanding was that these are autonomous drones? Or rather — they have their route programmed before launch but then it's not remotely controlled.
Not this particular model. They can be left without operator attention for a while but they will fly where they're told to fly and can change their flight path during a mission.
BTW, they can be taken over post launch as a rule, this is one of the things that makes them a bit harder to take down, they don't follow a predictable trajectory and can react whilst underway. There are also jet powered versions that are a lot faster that are harder still to take down. The ones over Poland this morning all seem to be the prop based ones. There is also talk of at least one missile.