ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine
The unblinking eye of the Ukrainian surveillance drone spotted attractive prey: eight Russian soldiers entering a fortified, well-camouflaged dugout.
Inside a darkened trench a few miles away, Ukrainian soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s strike drone company got to work. A pilot tightened the plastic blades of his hand-built machine, strapped a fuel bomb to its belly and lifted off.
Through a pair of goggles, the operator, call sign Sapsan, piloted the drone across the scarred battlefield in southern Ukraine, gliding the craft toward his target.
Such first-person view, or FPV, drones — fast, highly-maneuverable, and relatively cheap craft flown by an operator wearing a headset receiving the drone’s video feed in real time — are now the predominant attack drone in Ukraine.
They are filling a gap left by a shortage of Western artillery rounds and precision weapons, soldiers said, and their ability to carry heavier explosives has made it the preferred tool for destroying tanks in some units, allowing a pilot to strike weak points like engines and tracks with rapier precision. In Ukraine, explosive DIY drones give an intimate view of killing
Web Desk
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine
The unblinking eye of the Ukrainian surveillance drone spotted attractive prey: eight Russian soldiers entering a fortified, well-camouflaged dugout.
Inside a darkened trench a few miles away, Ukrainian soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade’s strike drone company got to work. A pilot tightened the plastic blades of his hand-built machine, strapped a fuel bomb to its belly and lifted off.
Through a pair of goggles, the operator, call sign Sapsan, piloted the drone across the scarred battlefield in southern Ukraine, gliding the craft toward his target.
Such first-person view, or FPV, drones — fast, highly-maneuverable, and relatively cheap craft flown by an operator wearing a headset receiving the drone’s video feed in real time — are now the predominant attack drone in Ukraine.
They are filling a gap left by a shortage of Western artillery rounds and precision weapons, soldiers said, and their ability to carry heavier explosives has made it the preferred tool for destroying tanks in some units, allowing a pilot to strike weak points like engines and tracks with rapier precision.
