Under the conditions of positional warfare, combat quadrocopters acquire hybrid functions – they can act both as sabotage and reconnaissance groups, as well as snipers and even front-line aviation.
Drones are one of the main consumables of Ukraine’s war against Russia. Moreover, the Armed Forces of Ukraine learned to use them not only for reconnaissance, but also to defeat the enemy. Drone flying over Russian soldiers and dropping a grenade – you must have seen videos like this from Ukrainian defenders. Different ammunition and methods of their delivery are used. The most commonly used are the 30mm VOG-17 shot from the Soviet AGS-17 Plamya automatic grenade launcher and the Chinese Mavik-3 quadcopter.
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The military installs various drop systems on drones – both primitive home-made and factory-made. Some drone companies produce such devices without specifying their military purpose. It was also reported about the industrial development of copters with devices for dropping ammunition and their possible transfer to the Ukrainian army.
In some cases, it is necessary to install an additional guidance camera on the quadrocopter, which allows the operator to perform an aimed grenade throw.
The drone is ineffective in windy weather – its flight becomes unstable, and the fallen bullets strongly deviate from the target. For night attacks, the UAV must be equipped with a thermal imaging camera, which greatly increases its cost.
A cheap quadrocopter does not have secure communication channels and is easily intercepted by modern means of electronic warfare – the same “drone”.
But for now, the Chinese Mavic-3 remains the most popular on the Russian-Ukrainian front, which costs about 3 thousand dollars at retail. An attacking drone threatens only the device itself, but can destroy dozens of opponents.
Copters are changing warfare
Under the conditions of positional warfare, combat quadrocopters acquire hybrid functions – they can act both as sabotage and reconnaissance groups, as well as snipers and even front-line aviation.
The presence of a large number of such drones in the hands of the enemy makes it extremely dangerous not only for the movement of personnel and equipment, but also for their presence in open space near the front line.
To counter massive attacks by copter-grenade launchers, large EW formations with state-of-the-art weapons are needed. Due to the length of the Russian-Ukrainian front, it is thousands of highly qualified specialists and tens of thousands more soldiers to protect them.
Otherwise, the soldiers on the front line are left to wait for a “gift” from the sky at any moment, or sit in the holes. An anti-drone trench or cell with a grenade is no longer a panacea.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.