War in Ukraine – Drones destroy equipment worth millions of dollars
According to journalists, the Ukrainian armed forces can send their drones far behind the front line and behind enemy lines. UAVs drift over fields and villages, searching for Russian artillery pieces, tanks and other targets.
A whole fleet of inexpensive drones is supporting the Ukrainian armed forces in the counteroffensive. They bring great advantages as they can bypass the electronic warfare systems of the Russian occupiers. The New York Times writes about it.
According to journalists, the Ukrainian military was able to advance further with the help of drones in search of artillery positions and Russian air defense systems worth millions. They only risk low-cost drones that cost several thousand dollars per unit.
The publication writes that the Russian army even had to move its howitzers beyond the range of Ukrainian guns in the south. This allowed UAV operators in the Ukrainian Armed Forces to learn how to bypass the electronic jamming systems of the Russian Armed Forces.
The material states that the Ukrainian armed forces can send their drones far beyond the front line and behind enemy lines. UAVs drift over fields and villages, searching for Russian artillery pieces, tanks and other targets.
It is reported that there are so many drones flying in one sector of the front that Ukrainian operators have to coordinate all flights with the dispatcher. It is comparable to air traffic control at an airport.
“If the Russians get closer, we will see them,” said Lt. Ashot Harutyunyan, commander of an unmanned reconnaissance unit.
Ukrainian intelligence officials said they use drones made of plastic, making them difficult to detect on radar. Ukraine buys them from commercial suppliers. Many drones are disassembled and then reassembled, but with different parts. This is done in order to find the best combination that will help overcome the electronic suppression of the Russian Armed Forces.
Additionally, Ukrainian operators reportedly switch between frequencies and fly close to the ground, making them difficult to track. UAVs fly without GPS navigation. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage, as otherwise operators must rely on landmarks on the ground.
The military said it would prefer to conduct multiple missions with low-cost drones, knowing some of them would be lost.
Recall that on September 20 it was reported that the Ukrainian armed forces had “surprisingly” started using drones. Russian pioneers cannot yet understand what causes the drone to explode an hour after its crash: a chip embedded in the “brain” or a specially designed projectile that it carries. So the Armed Forces of Ukraine began firing drones with a self-destruction timer, and currently we know of at least two possible cases of self-destruction of Ukrainian drones.
