Summary
Small FPV drones, traveling at 37mph, have become ubiquitous in Ukraine’s war, evolving from “a novelty to a weapon of choice.”
Ukrainian forces deploy these low-cost, explosive-equipped drones for reconnaissance and precision attacks, transforming frontlines into deep drone combat zones.
Crowdfunded and assembled locally, FPV drones are also used for air defense, targeting Russian aircraft and drones at lower costs.
With limited Western aid uncertain, Ukraine focuses on scaling drone production and innovation to counter Russia’s numerical advantage and maintain battlefield efficiency.
What I am surprised about is that frontline soldiers still use such a large percentage of quadcopters and appear to operate them with BetaFlight.
Quads need twice as much battery to deliver the same payload as a plane would. And while BetaFlight is mighty fine for sports, it seems to have no “heading lock” behaviour - so if you jam a machine running BetaFlight, it won’t be able to go where it used to go.
I have the feeling that we’re only seeing the beginning of the first episode of a quite gruesome story. There will be far more capable drones (and antidrone drones, and automated weapons stations) right around the corner.
At some point, offensive operations will involve releasing thousands of drones at once, and if the defender hasn’t fortified well (earth protects), then defensive operations will foremost attempt to mop them up. EMP will be used for sure when swarms get very big and nasty.