On average, each Russian soldier on the front line will be cared for by a Ukrainian UAV, and Kiev continues to add more UAVs.
Russia’s destruction of many of Ukraine’s weapons reserves, along with ammunition shortages in the US and Europe, caused the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to have difficulty supplying ammunition, forcing them to supplement with ammunition. suicide drones.
First-person view (FPV) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are Ukraine’s new attack weapon. Kiev is a pioneer in the field of adapting commercial drones into weapons to attack targets on the ground.
Russia adopted this approach later, but state-owned arms factories, private companies, self-financing initiatives, and crowdfunding have contributed to promoting its production. exporting unmanned aircraft.
UAVs are cheap but have great value
Reports confirm that both Russia and Ukraine are using drones in the number of tens of thousands each month, UAVs that are cheap but very effective against ground targets.
A suicide UAV on the Ukrainian battlefield. (Photo: Forbes)
Although UAVs cannot bring firepower and destructive power as powerful as artillery, they can destroy mobile targets, light to medium combat vehicles such as artillery or armored personnel carriers, helping Save important ammunition.
EurAsian Times report shows that, in just the beginning of 2023, Russian Lancet drones destroyed nearly 45% of Western-produced artillery on the Ukrainian battlefield, and also became unmanned aircraft. piloted the main and most successful attack on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Flexible maneuverability and long range are considered a strong point of UAVs, this helps parties reduce costs and resources to ensure logistics supply routes like when using force. amount of artillery.
The importance of UAVs
Minister of Digital Transformation Mykahilo Fedorov shared in a talk with the United24 program, “Drones are the eyes of the Ukrainian military, we currently have more than 200 businesses registered to produce drones.”.
A Ukrainian soldier holds a small quadcopter rigged with explosives.
“Last year, only seven types of Ukrainian drones were used on the front lines. Currently there are 50 different UAV models produced in Ukraine and this number continues to increase”, Mr. Fedorov added.
Fedorov also announced Ukraine’s commercial drone acquisition efforts, sharing images of thousands of drones ready to be sent to the front. Ukrainian officials say they need 150,000 to 200,000 UAVs per month.
Warning
RIA Novosti reporter Alexander Kharchenko, noted on Telegram that the AFU could possess up to nearly 700,000 FPV drones, based on Ukraine’s public announcements about drone procurement efforts in last time.
Kharchenko said: “Killer drones can now replace artillery in repelling major attacks, especially if the terrain allows them to be used unhindered.”.
EurAsian Times reported in December 2023 how the AFU lost nearly 90% of the FPV drones it sent out, due to difficult terrain that blocked radio control signals and due to electronic warfare of Russia (EW). However, Ukraine is currently compensating for losses by continuing to buy more, creating a constant and persistent threat to Russian soldiers.
The Council of Military Innovative Technologies of the Russian Ministry of Defense met in early January 2024 at the Raevsky Military Training Area near Novorossiysk, chaired by Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. Officials were shown demonstrations of anti-drone systems.
Anti-UAV Platforms “capable of protecting fixed and moving targets from aircraft, helicopters and UAVs, even in conditions of insufficient optical visibility”. Some have been tested by Russian units on the front lines, while others are in various stages of development.
The Russian Ministry of Defense added: “A strategy session was also held on the development and use of means to counter drones”. This shows that Russia is also very interested and paying attention to previous reports that Ukraine has become a testing ground for artificial intelligence (AI) and Western automatic drone control technology. .
Kharchenko noted that in 2023, Ukraine received $712 million for helicopters and drones. Using just half that amount, Ukraine would have more than 700,000 FPV drones. This means that every Russian soldier in the Northern Military District will be taken care of by at least one UAV.
The Russian military’s requirements for jamming devices have also recently increased “exponentially”, to match the number of Ukrainian drones, which are now enough to destroy individual soldiers.
Thus, the superiority in tanks, artillery, and bullets will “no longer be as effective” as it was a year ago. Kharchenko concluded: “It is urgent to adjust tactics and complement the front to ensure protection from drones and take into account new threats”.