A newly posted video on social media made clear that even at night, drones are being employed in the fighting in Ukraine to drop ordnance on enemy positions and vehicles.
According to Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons), units of the Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade successfully destroyed a Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle in the Luhansk Oblast via a drone equipped with thermal optics.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) dropped grenades onto the IFV. It is unclear if the BMP-2 was operational at the time. A BMP-1 was also taken out of action during the recent drone strike.
Though it is unclear where the recent action took place, the 25th Separate Airborne Sicheslav Brigade has been engaged in fighting in the Donbas region. It has shared a large number of videos of its drone attacks on Russian vehicles.
Night Strike
Though this is one of the few nighttime videos posted by the 25th Airborne Brigade, the use of drones with night vision or similar optics has been well-documented in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Night strikes have steadily increased since last year.
A video was shared to Reddit last November showing a small mortar shell or similar-sized ordnance dropped from a drone equipped with thermal optics onto a group of Russian soldiers. Those troops seem completely caught off guard as the drone approaches and a number appeared to be taken out in the strike.
In January, troops from the Ukrainian Armed Forces 47th Motorized Infantry Battalion also released a video that showed the use of an armed drone with thermal cameras and small bombs to hunt down Russian soldiers in the middle of the night. In that video, the Russian soldiers desperately tried to hide and take cover when they spotted the Ukrainian drone hovering overhead.
Such attacks at night are likely to increase, as night optics for drones are already commercially available.
Aerorozvidka NGO – Ukraine’s Night Hunters
A specialized non-government organization (NGO) known as Aerorozvidka (Ukrainian for “aerial reconnaissance”) has also been working to develop and implement netcentric and robotic military capabilities for the Ukrainian military. The NGO was founded by a group of drone and IT enthusiasts and has since been described as a “war startup” by the Atlantic Council. Its founder, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach was killed in the fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2015.
There have been reports that the unit has taken to the frontlines, where it has hunted and attacked Russian forces at night when the Kremlin’s troops are more likely to be off-guard.
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade destroyed a Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle in #Luhansk Oblast using grenades dropped from a drone equipped with thermal optics. A BMP-1 was also taken out of action. pic.twitter.com/Z8kI3XQ3O0
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 20, 2023
“We strike at night, when the Russians sleep,” Yaroslav Honchar, leader of the Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance unit from Kyiv, told the UK Times newspaper last year.
Such attacks may have a psychological effect and can keep the enemy on edge, especially when soldiers are trying to sleep. No doubt many will now be wide awake, watching, and listening for the drones after the sun goes down.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
