Switchblade “Kamikaze” drones supplied by U.S. defense contractor AeroVironment to Ukraine have proven among of the most consequential weapons in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These unmanned aerial vehicles are designed to be packed away and transported in a rucksack before being launched from the ground – by a single troop.
The drones then launch into the air and can be used for reconnaissance, allowing soldiers on the ground to monitor the ground and search for targets, before being used to strike enemy positions. The UAV itself is a munition, allowing operators to manually choose a target and launch the drone directly at it.
More than 1,000 of these so-called “suicide” drones have been delivered to Ukraine so far – with over 700 delivered in just one aid package. And now, new video footage seems to suggest that Russian troops are eager to strike Ukrainian targets with their own variants of the device. However, the footage seems to indicate that the Russians are jerry-rigging their own Switchblade-style UAV using consumer-grade drones and whatever munitions are available to them.
Watch the Footage
In a clip shared on a Russian-language Telegram news channel, Ukrainian positions are highlighted on the ground with blue arrows. The footage was recorded by Russian commercial-grade drones.
The video appears to show the drones flying quickly toward the ground before cutting out very quickly when the UAV lands and delivers munitions. The footage was recorded by Russian ground stations receiving data from cameras on the drones before they strike.
Rob Lee, a military researcher and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, suggested that the drones were very likely to be consumer-level devices fitted with munitions.
“Video reportedly of Russian kamikaze drones/loitering munitions being used on Ukrainian positions. Most likely, they are commercial UAVs with munitions attached,” Lee said, sharing a link to the Telegram channel that first shared the video.
Footage from a UAV of Russian loitering munition strikes on Ukrainian positions. 2/https://t.co/uqWJ7UOmhy pic.twitter.com/BGScnvUBu4
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 23, 2022
While it has not been confirmed what drones were used in the attack, or what munitions were attached to the drones, it’s possible that the Russians are using DJI consumer-grade drones.
In April, China’s DJI UAV manufacturer halted the sale of drones to Russia and Ukraine to prevent their equipment from being used in the conflict. The drones are equipped with high-resolution cameras and gimbals, allowing for extremely stable footage to be recorded from the air. The drones were widely used by both Ukrainian and Russian troops during the early days of the war for reconnaissance purposes and are likely still in widespread use today.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
