The Ukraine war is, in many respects, a massive drone war that is being caught on camera and posted on social media every single day.
The most powerful drones – and sometimes cheapest – are kamikaze systems Ukraine uses to hit Russian forces hard on the battlefield.
This goes to show that you don’t have to have the most expensive and modern combat systems to win a war in 2023 – just the most effective.
Annihilated on Camera
The capabilities of loitering munitions were on full display in a 16-second-long video shared on social media back in April by the open-source military analysts at OSINT Technical (@Osinttechnical).
In the Eastern Donbas region, a Ukrainian FPV (first-person-view) loitering munition can be seen seeking a target of opportunity near a tree line.
As soon as a Russian forward bunker is spotted, the drone goes in for the kill.
The video ends abruptly – and likely, the death toll among the Kremlin’s forces increased.
Loitering munitions have proven to be a game changer for Ukraine, becoming a sling and bullet to strike back hard at the Russian Goliath.
However, in this fight, the proverbial David is often safely behind the frontlines operating the “kamikaze” drones remotely.
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been quite ubiquitous since the start of the war more than 13 months ago, but the evolution of these small devices has been watched closely from the sidelines, the Australian Broadcast Corporation recently reported. The capabilities of drones were known before the war began, but the ability to strap ordnance and create low-cost “loitering munitions” that can strike with such precision has come as a shock to many military observers.
So too has the use of commercial “off-the-shelf” drones to drop ordnance including hand grenades and gasoline bombs directly into the open hatches of tanks and other vehicles been a shock to the system. FPV drones had been developed for hobbyists for racing and other similar activities, but these can be easily armed with explosive ordnance and sent on a one-way “suicide mission.”
This likely has U.S. law enforcement at every level concerned, as such drones could also prove to be a game changer for criminals and terrorists.
Ukrainian Start-up Comes Out of Stealth Mode
It was also reported back in April that a Ukrainian firm has come out of a different kind of “stealth mode,” namely it went public with its efforts to develop a new drone munition system to aid in the nation’s war effort.
The Kyiv-based One Way Aerospace unveiled its efforts to provide Ukraine with a range of small, locally developed, and produced drone systems that could be employed against Russian forces, DroneDJ.com reported.
Central to these recent efforts is the evocatively named AQV 100 Scalpel UAV. It has already been employed to cut deep through enemy lines to strike Russian targets.
In the east, a Ukrainian FPV loitering munition hunts along a treeline for a Russian position, before finding and slamming into one. pic.twitter.com/2xwKaQQR0i
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 11, 2023
Scalpels have been among the UAVs seen in the videos that continue to circulate on social media and likely was the one shared back in April. According to the reports, Ukraine’s intelligence services are assembling as many as 1,000 kamikaze drones – including replenishing those sent on their one-way missions.
The One Way Aerospace drones reportedly cost around $1,000 per unit – far less expensive than military-grade drones being supplied by Western companies. In addition to lower cost, the domestically-built drones offer heavier-lift and longer-flying configurations.
However, there are concerns that Ukraine’s drone attacks could be countered by Russian electronic warfare techniques to jam the signals and diminish the range. For now, Kyiv may stay one step ahead on the drone warfare front, yet, both sides could face threats from UAVs.
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.
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