This is how Ukrainian drones work. ‘We analyze 3 thousand 500 photos’ |
Drones Ukraine plays an important role in the war. Both sides use large numbers of drones to collect information, target artillery strikes and drop bombs.
Commander of the drone unit of the “Charter” battalion Yaroslav Markevich calls the joint work of drones and artillery “the most important couple” in offensive operations. He says that this of Ukraine in September Kharkiv is one of the main reasons for the success of counterattack operations in the region.
“It is because of drones that it is possible to move forward very quickly”, – he says.
Ukraine training hundreds of drone operators every month. Ukraine social the media military full of volunteers raising money to buy drones for associations.
Usually, Yaroslav and his comrades fly the camera drone towards Russian positions, then return it, download the information it collects to their computers and start analyzing it.
Russian military Locating machinery and equipment is a very difficult process. They first use artificial intelligence to detect the often well-camouflaged Russian equipment from drone footage. First, the artificial intelligence detects rectangular objects. After that, they spend hours analyzing the signs of potential targets with their own eyes.
Even small differences are due to the presence of a Russian tank under camouflage news can give For example, if the leaves are dry in a certain area and wet everywhere else, it is in that area military it may mean concealment of technique.
After that, their command and artillery units decide which targets to hit. Once the target is selected, the operators conduct another flight to verify that it is still in place. Double checking is essential to avoid wasting expensive artillery rounds.
Often standing just a few kilometers away from the target, they listen to Ukrainian artillery strikes hit the target. Then, with the help of the military map and Starlink on their tablets, they coordinate with the artillery unit.
This kind of work often requires a lot of energy and is exhausting. “We sleep only two hours during the whole week. We fly the drone until 7 in the evening, then we go to the base and analyze the 3,500 photos taken from the flight.” – says the drone operator nicknamed Lego.
of Ukraine drone units are facing a supply problem. While more military drones are being purchased, demand far outstrips supply. The head of a Ukrainian drone company told the press in June the sum of the military’s drone needs 20He said he was paid %.
Many drone communities are launching commercial quadcopters used in peaceful hobbyist videos to fill this void.
Markević says that these drones only cause damage. Since 2014, he has been fighting with separatists in Donbas, so he had to work with drones.
Drones in general are not designed for the rigors of trench life. Inappropriate weather anything from the conditions to a Russian missile could knock them out. After the drone takes off, Russian electronic weapons can jam the signal that remotely controls it and cut off communication with the operator.
“We’re losing a lot of drones,” Markevych says.
Perhaps the biggest of the challenges is that operators have to work so close to the front lines. Commercial drones operated by “Charter” often have a practical range of about three kilometers. Russia artillery shells can travel much farther than that. Russian howitzers hit a distance of up to 25 kilometers.