/Pogled.info/ Stealth and fast, drones have become one of the most lethal weapons during the conflict in Ukraine. Now, it seems, they have found the most effective way to deal with them.
“…unless there’s another scrap”
World War I aircraft began as scouts. Then they became bombers. It turns out that only other planes can resist planes. That’s how the fighter jets appeared. One hundred years later, history repeats itself – this time with drones.
The effectiveness of drones on the battlefield—especially low-cost civilian quadcopters—has come as a surprise, including to military leaders. It turned out that small machines can destroy very expensive equipment – including tanks. And their terror allows them to be used even against an individual soldier.
There was no way he was ready to fight. It is not so easy to take down small planes using traditional air defense. It is also very expensive: quadcopters cost a few hundred dollars, and interceptor missiles cost at least tens of thousands.
They try to defend themselves with radio-electronic warfare, anti-drone rifles and small arms. But all types of countermeasures have their drawbacks and limitations.
In the third year of the conflict in Ukraine, it became clear: unmanned fighters are needed to achieve air superiority. And they are already forming – both in the Russian troops and in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Removing “Baba Yaga”
There are several videos online of Russian mini-drones attacking large agricultural multi-copters known as “Baba Yaga”. The Armed Forces of Ukraine load them with several projectiles of different types at the same time – so they can do “carpet bombing”.
It is true that in these cases, the air targets were identified by chance and the operator decided to destroy “Baba Yaga” at the expense of his own machine.
It was later reported that Russian “drone pilots” were specifically looking for enemy UAVs. And according to media reports, combat drones are already included in training courses in some parts of the Russian military.
In addition, volunteers are developing special modifications for interception – for example, a battering ram drone. The special design should prevent breakage on impact.
Artificial intelligence spies are being tested. They are able to independently find an air target and neutralize it in one way or another – in particular, with a special network.
As Forbes said, the developers of these devices were inspired by sports competitions. Especially “Drone Clash” when they organize battles between small helicopters.
Air, earth and water
A typical drone operator looks forward and down, so he is not prepared to fight a fighter who attacks from above and behind him. There is no way to warn of the danger. In this regard, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to combine their “Baba Yaga” type drones with quadcopters, which protect them from Russian spies, notes military expert Samuel Benedet .
The Air Force uses combat drones partly out of necessity, as there are insufficient conventional air defense systems. In Kiev, they claim to have created an analogue of the crazy Lancet weapon and are ready to shoot down even the Russian Geranis. It is not yet clear how true this is.
In addition, the Ukrainian armed forces have American Anvil interceptor drones. The results of their use are not published “for reasons of confidentiality”.
The issue is not limited to air combat. Cases of attacks by Ukrainian FPV drones against ground attack robotic platforms are known. And Russian Black Sea Fleet sailors are learning how to use UAVs to attack unmanned ships to protect their ships. In this way, drone warfare takes on a “cross-environment” nature.
Translation: V. Sergeev