Specialist Ukrainian drone unit picks off invading Russian forces as they sleep
Charlie ParkerMarch 17 2022, 10.30pm GMT
Russian forces are static when night falls, he explained, with their fear of Ukrainian shelling forcing them to hide their tanks in villages between houses, knowing that conventional artillery cannot risk hitting civilians.
“In the night it’s impossible to see our drones,” said an Aerorozvidka soldier, who asked not to be named for security reasons. “We look specifically for the most valuable truck in the convoy and then we hit it precisely and we can do it really well with very low collateral damage — even in the villages it’s possible. You can get much closer at night.”
Aerorozvidka, led by Yaroslav Honchar, right, use drones to hit targets at night
Their fleet ranges from cheap commercial drones to their most important asset: heavy, custom-built octocopters maintained by in-house engineers.
The R18 model is the jewel of their arsenal, boasting a 4km range, 40-minute flight time and capacity to drop 5kg bombs that obliterate Russian armour. Considered the Ukrainians’ best device for night operations, it can carry out precise reconnaissance and direct artillery fire and drop explosives on tanks and electronic warfare trucks.
Another drone used by the unit is the PD-1, a reconnaissance device capable of hovering in the air for eight hours.
The teams carry out about 300 missions every day to help to collect information by Aerorozvidka’s advanced Nato-supported intelligence system, Delta, which identifies high-priority targets for their limited supply of bombs. Co-ordinates are given to the kill squads who take to the skies at night.
The unit is led by Yaroslav Honchar
As well as utilising public communications channels where hundreds of civilian drone fliers have mobilised to push back
President Putin’s forces, Aerorozvidka relies on a secure Starlink satellite system donated to them by
Elon Musk. The unit was created by model plane enthusiasts in 2014 but since the success of its operations against Russian forces in Crimea it has been integrated into the Ukrainian general staff.
Many devices return to Aerorozvidka’s base battle-scarred from Russian rifles and the unit is in urgent need of parts, especially night vision and thermal cameras.
Over the past fortnight supporters from across Europe have been sending drone parts and other equipment, including 3D printers that can be used to build explosive devices and repair damaged devices.
British citizens have responded to the call and are in the process of creating a direct supply stream to Ukraine.
Drone specialists have built a Nato-standard intelligence system capable of monitoring the movements of Russians and co-ordinating precise air attacks against their positions (Charlie Parker writes).
Delta, created by the Ukrainian air reconnaissance unit Aerorozvidka, pulls together information from satellites, sensors on the battlefield, drone reconnaissance, radio interceptions and interviews with people in occupied territory.
It allows on-screen tracking of military movement in the conflict zone, showing data on an interactive map that military leaders can use for “situational awareness” and planning. Leaders of the unit have been using the system to co-ordinate bombing runs with drones against Russian targets, including tank convoys.
“We have an in-house team of military software developers who follow a Nato standard to develop our situational awareness system,” an Aerorozvidka leader told
The Times. He added: “Based on the information we task our 50 teams in the field to either hit the targets identified or provide additional reconnaissance to some special parameters. Or to provide artillery with their eyes — they do the co-ordination of artillery fire.”
Because of power cuts and internet connection problems in parts of Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks, Aerorozvidka has turned to alternative methods.
Its most sophisticated drones are connected using Starlink, a system donated by Elon Musk that uses satellites in a low orbit to enable “high data rate” activities. “We use Starlink equipment and connect the drone team with our artillery team,” the officer said.
“If we use a drone with thermal vision at night, the drone must connect through Starlink to the artillery guy and create target acquisition.”
Delta proved so successful against Russia in Crimea that Ukrainian officers have been trained by Nato to use it alongside western-style battlefield command and control techniques. The system is helping to transform how units detect and respond to changes on the battlefield.
www.thetimes.co.uk
Voi voi. Jaksuhalit.
