[weekendpyro]

Are there any photographs or videos of drone drop wounds? I've seen a few where it's obvious someone has lost a limb or damage to the face. But when they detonate 20 feet away and a bunch of people go down, I never see bloodstains on the pants or anything. Curious how much damage they inflict. Not saying that I don't believe it's substantial.

[ride]

Hey does anyone know where the supply of observation/suicide/target drop drones are primarily coming from? This might be a better question for the discussion thread, but hey...WM if you need to move i understand.

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by weekendpyro ↗

Are there any photographs or videos of drone drop wounds? I've seen a few where it's obvious someone has lost a limb or damage to the face. But when they detonate 20 feet away and a bunch of people go down, I never see bloodstains on the pants or anything. Curious how much damage they inflict. Not saying that I don't believe it's substantial.

There are a shit ton of them but you can check out #dronedrop . Keep in mind, I have only hashtagged threads from present day back to May of this year. I also have hashtagged about the first month of the invasion but there weren't many drone drops going on back then.

You can also check out #directhit but you will also get suicide drone direct hits with that one.

Or you can search for both hashtags at the same time in the advanced search.

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by ride ↗

Hey does anyone know where the supply of observation/suicide/target drop drones are primarily coming from? This might be a better question for the discussion thread, but hey...WM if you need to move i understand.

No worries. :)

Many of them come directly from donations via social media. I see "thank you" videos all the time from some of my sources thanking people and showing the drones purchased with the donations.

I'm pretty sure that the government/military provides them too. There are entire battalions in existence now solely for drone warfare.

There is even a few companies in Ukraine that are making them as well.

[ride]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

Many of them come directly from donations via social media. I see "thank you" videos all the time from some of my sources thanking people and showing the drones purchased with the donations.

This is very good to hear. Grass-roots support.

[kellyhound]

Nineteen months into the Russian invasion, and as a grueling counteroffensive grinds on, the Ukrainian government wants to spend more than $1 billion to upgrade its drone-fighting capabilities. Whether used for reconnaissance, dropping bombs or self-exploding on impact, drones save money, and soldiers’ lives.

They are also more precise than traditional artillery — which is in short supply — and can deliver outsized impacts, such as real-time mapping of the battlefield, destroying tanks and ships, and bringing Russian advances to a halt.

Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, says the government is committed to building a state-of-the-art “army of drones” and that its value to the war effort will be evident by the end of this year. The country has already trained more than 10,000 new drone pilots this year.

“A new stage of the war will soon begin,” Fedorov promises.

Giocondo’s unit operates near the occupied town of Svatove, in northeastern Ukraine. It has spent months modifying drones to enable them to fly deeper behind enemy lines and to better evade Russian detection and sabotage.

His drone pilots are all volunteers, and many of them had no military experience prior to Russia’s invasion.

Combing through the vast landscape to find a target takes hours. Russian troops have gotten better at hiding and camouflaging themselves in the foliage.

The growing reliance on short-range exploding drones on the front line has prompted the Russians to deploy more handheld jamming devices, Ukrainian officials say. That has forced Giocondo’s unit, and others, to devise creative countermeasures.

After three months of trial and error, Ukrainian soldiers operating in the eastern village of Andriivka, south of Bakhmut, figured out how to evade Russian jamming devices that had long stymied their drones.

The fix led to the village being recaptured in early September. A spokesman for the battalion that retook the village said exploding drones were key because they forced the Russians to pull back heavy weaponry by roughly 15 kilometers to stay out of range.

But Ukrainian drone pilots say the Russians will learn from what happened, and adapt again.

The acceleration of short-range drone warfare by units like Giocondo’s is in direct response to the trouble Ukrainian forces experienced this summer using conventional weapons to try to punch through Russia’s fortified defenses. The counteroffensive that began in June has depleted money, artillery and soldiers — and hasn’t yielded as much momentum as Ukraine had hoped for.

Faced with these challenges, the leader of an elite drone squad called the Asgard Group, which oversees Giocondo’s unit, sensed an opportunity. The leader, a wealthy former businessman who goes by the name Pharmacist on the battlefield, directed his soldiers to begin targeting Russia’s large and expensive weaponry with small and inexpensive drones.

Exploding drones cost roughly $400 to make, while a conventional projectile can cost nearly 10 times as much. Even if it requires multiple drones to take out a tank — and sometimes it does — it is still worth it.

The strategy had the additional benefit of putting fewer soldiers’ lives at risk.

But first they had to modify commercial drones with hardware and software to suit the battlefield, enabling them to penetrate deeper behind enemy lines without being detected or jammed. A breakthrough came through the clever use of several drones in unison.

With his entrepreneurial spirit, Pharmacist helped turn a ragtag group of engineers, corporate managers and filmmakers into an elite fighting force. He estimates that his 12-man team, assembled with just $700,000, has destroyed $80 million worth of enemy equipment.

Since March, at least eight new Ukrainian companies building explosive drones have been formed as part of the initiative.

Looking out over the horizon, Fedorov said advances in artificial intelligence being employed by some brigades are only likely to sharpen the effectiveness — and cost-effectiveness — of drones.


It is likely Russia recently launched limited kamikaze drone strikes across Ukraine to gauge the effectiveness of air defenses in different regions, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said on Oct. 27.

He noted the enemy might have other purposes for launching the small-scale attacks, but Russia is likely aiming to determine where UAVs are most and least vulnerable to being shot down.

The small waves of UAVs launched by the enemy are maneuvering around Ukraine and determining where they are more and less likely to be shot down, Ihnat said.

"This allows the enemy to draw certain conclusions about the forces and means in a particular region and take this information into account when planning future attacks," he said.


While Ukraine once had the edge in drone superiority, Russia has begun to catch up, producing more sophisticated and numerous drones, as well as ramping up its electronic warfare systems, which defend against Ukraine's attacks.

Samuel Bendett, an expert on drones at the Center for Naval Analyses, a Washington-based think, told Insider that the Ukrainian government will have to go all-in on a few select models of drones.

"Ukraine led in the technological race at the beginning, but the size and the scale of Russia is now working in its favor. It doesn't mean Ukraine is in trouble. It means that Ukraine has to make some choices about which specific drones it wants to invest in," Bendett said.

The Economist reported that Russian FPV drones have destroyed multiple Bradley Fighting Vehicles and even a Leopard tank. An infantryman fighting between Robotyne and Verbove told the outlet that Ukrainian losses have significantly increased in part, because of Russia's use of drones.

In addition to making drone pilots sought-after targets, the war's reliance on drone warfare has also forced both sides to adapt in real time; equipment that can detect and defend against electronic warfare has become a necessity on the battlefield.


Russia is reportedly using an upgraded "Lancet" suicide drone against Ukrainian soldiers, a new report has cited.

The new drone, dubbed the "Izdeliye-53," encompasses a navigation system that can recognize different kinds of targets autonomously, improving the strike rate, according to a report by the US-based think tank Institue for the Study of War (ISW) on Saturday.

Its latest version uses an "automatic guidance system that can distinguish types of targets and increase strike success rates," said the ISW study.

The report said that Russia is also testing the new drones for coordinated strikes - “mass synchronized swarm strikes" which could collapse Ukraine's air defense systems.

“Russian sources claimed that Russian forces began using the new 'Izdeliye-53' kamikaze drone as of October 21,” noted the ISW report.

“The sources also claimed that the “Izdeliye-53” drone reportedly has an automatic guidance system that can distinguish types of targets and increase strike success rates.”

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the Kremlin has extensively used suicide drones, aka "kamikaze" drones.

The relatively cheaper and easy-to-produce drones can attack various targets, including tanks, artillery, and personnel.

It's estimated a “Lancet” drone is capable of payloads weighing between 3-5 kilos (6-11 pounds), which is less compared to other suicide drones that Russia outsources from Iran.


it's going to be the race and war of who has the most and best drones and EW systems imo.

[WonderMomma]

"The last journey of a Ukrainian warrior on a shield in a cemetery in Kyiv…"

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

Nineteen months into the Russian invasion, and as a grueling counteroffensive grinds on, the Ukrainian government wants to spend more than $1 billion to upgrade its drone-fighting capabilities. Whether used for reconnaissance, dropping bombs or self-exploding on impact, drones save money, and soldiers’ lives.

They are also more precise than traditional artillery — which is in short supply — and can deliver outsized impacts, such as real-time mapping of the battlefield, destroying tanks and ships, and bringing Russian advances to a halt.

Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, says the government is committed to building a state-of-the-art “army of drones” and that its value to the war effort will be evident by the end of this year. The country has already trained more than 10,000 new drone pilots this year.

“A new stage of the war will soon begin,” Fedorov promises.

Giocondo’s unit operates near the occupied town of Svatove, in northeastern Ukraine. It has spent months modifying drones to enable them to fly deeper behind enemy lines and to better evade Russian detection and sabotage.

His drone pilots are all volunteers, and many of them had no military experience prior to Russia’s invasion.

Combing through the vast landscape to find a target takes hours. Russian troops have gotten better at hiding and camouflaging themselves in the foliage.

The growing reliance on short-range exploding drones on the front line has prompted the Russians to deploy more handheld jamming devices, Ukrainian officials say. That has forced Giocondo’s unit, and others, to devise creative countermeasures.

After three months of trial and error, Ukrainian soldiers operating in the eastern village of Andriivka, south of Bakhmut, figured out how to evade Russian jamming devices that had long stymied their drones.

The fix led to the village being recaptured in early September. A spokesman for the battalion that retook the village said exploding drones were key because they forced the Russians to pull back heavy weaponry by roughly 15 kilometers to stay out of range.

But Ukrainian drone pilots say the Russians will learn from what happened, and adapt again.

The acceleration of short-range drone warfare by units like Giocondo’s is in direct response to the trouble Ukrainian forces experienced this summer using conventional weapons to try to punch through Russia’s fortified defenses. The counteroffensive that began in June has depleted money, artillery and soldiers — and hasn’t yielded as much momentum as Ukraine had hoped for.

Faced with these challenges, the leader of an elite drone squad called the Asgard Group, which oversees Giocondo’s unit, sensed an opportunity. The leader, a wealthy former businessman who goes by the name Pharmacist on the battlefield, directed his soldiers to begin targeting Russia’s large and expensive weaponry with small and inexpensive drones.

Exploding drones cost roughly $400 to make, while a conventional projectile can cost nearly 10 times as much. Even if it requires multiple drones to take out a tank — and sometimes it does — it is still worth it.

The strategy had the additional benefit of putting fewer soldiers’ lives at risk.

But first they had to modify commercial drones with hardware and software to suit the battlefield, enabling them to penetrate deeper behind enemy lines without being detected or jammed. A breakthrough came through the clever use of several drones in unison.

With his entrepreneurial spirit, Pharmacist helped turn a ragtag group of engineers, corporate managers and filmmakers into an elite fighting force. He estimates that his 12-man team, assembled with just $700,000, has destroyed $80 million worth of enemy equipment.

Since March, at least eight new Ukrainian companies building explosive drones have been formed as part of the initiative.

Looking out over the horizon, Fedorov said advances in artificial intelligence being employed by some brigades are only likely to sharpen the effectiveness — and cost-effectiveness — of drones.


It is likely Russia recently launched limited kamikaze drone strikes across Ukraine to gauge the effectiveness of air defenses in different regions, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, said on Oct. 27.

He noted the enemy might have other purposes for launching the small-scale attacks, but Russia is likely aiming to determine where UAVs are most and least vulnerable to being shot down.

The small waves of UAVs launched by the enemy are maneuvering around Ukraine and determining where they are more and less likely to be shot down, Ihnat said.

"This allows the enemy to draw certain conclusions about the forces and means in a particular region and take this information into account when planning future attacks," he said.


While Ukraine once had the edge in drone superiority, Russia has begun to catch up, producing more sophisticated and numerous drones, as well as ramping up its electronic warfare systems, which defend against Ukraine's attacks.

Samuel Bendett, an expert on drones at the Center for Naval Analyses, a Washington-based think, told Insider that the Ukrainian government will have to go all-in on a few select models of drones.

"Ukraine led in the technological race at the beginning, but the size and the scale of Russia is now working in its favor. It doesn't mean Ukraine is in trouble. It means that Ukraine has to make some choices about which specific drones it wants to invest in," Bendett said.

The Economist reported that Russian FPV drones have destroyed multiple Bradley Fighting Vehicles and even a Leopard tank. An infantryman fighting between Robotyne and Verbove told the outlet that Ukrainian losses have significantly increased in part, because of Russia's use of drones.

In addition to making drone pilots sought-after targets, the war's reliance on drone warfare has also forced both sides to adapt in real time; equipment that can detect and defend against electronic warfare has become a necessity on the battlefield.


Russia is reportedly using an upgraded "Lancet" suicide drone against Ukrainian soldiers, a new report has cited.

The new drone, dubbed the "Izdeliye-53," encompasses a navigation system that can recognize different kinds of targets autonomously, improving the strike rate, according to a report by the US-based think tank Institue for the Study of War (ISW) on Saturday.

Its latest version uses an "automatic guidance system that can distinguish types of targets and increase strike success rates," said the ISW study.

The report said that Russia is also testing the new drones for coordinated strikes - “mass synchronized swarm strikes" which could collapse Ukraine's air defense systems.

“Russian sources claimed that Russian forces began using the new 'Izdeliye-53' kamikaze drone as of October 21,” noted the ISW report.

“The sources also claimed that the “Izdeliye-53” drone reportedly has an automatic guidance system that can distinguish types of targets and increase strike success rates.”

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the Kremlin has extensively used suicide drones, aka "kamikaze" drones.

The relatively cheaper and easy-to-produce drones can attack various targets, including tanks, artillery, and personnel.

It's estimated a “Lancet” drone is capable of payloads weighing between 3-5 kilos (6-11 pounds), which is less compared to other suicide drones that Russia outsources from Iran.


it's going to be the race and war of who has the most and best drones and EW systems imo.

Lithium stock prices will go through the roof or as Musk would say, "2 the moon" baby, & just to be clear, I'm not a fan of Musks, just using him for reference.

[Lookdavook]

what happened to moscow in 2 weeks? seems like the losers moved on to the next conflict (which they are wrong about again, lmao)

[Guns N' Coffee]

What happened to Ukraine in 3 days?