Required DJI replacement: why the Armed Forces risk losing an advantage in drones under Bakhmut

Without drones, Ukrainians were much more complicated, and perhaps it is impossible to keep a city that became one of the "hot spots" in the war in Ukraine. According to the Armed Forces Operator named Yaroslav, Russian troops are gradually improving their electronic warfare to stuff the most popular models of civilian UAVs from the DJI Chinese manufacturer. Kharkiv Yaroslav serves in the 63rd Brigade of the Armed Forces together with its countrymen Maxim and Eugene.

As operators, they go to the front and launch to the rear of the enemy quadcopters DJI Mavic 3 or Matrice 30T to conduct reconnaissance for battalions, look Russian positions and equipment, including artillery guns, as well as dumping grenades from the air. DJI drones are used by both Ukrainian and Russian troops, but in the hands of Ukrainians they become less effective due to the means of the RSF of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

According to the operators, nowadays quadcopters within Bakhmut can only work at a distance of only a few hundred meters, although previously flew 10-20 times. "I believe that after three to four months, DJI drones can not be used," Yaroslav said. - "In Nikolaev it was necessary to fly 15 km, and in Bakhmut only 500 meters - and even these 500 meters were difficult for two drone. " Sometimes one drone is enough for a month, and sometimes it does not survive one day.

Often, not only opponents, but also their units - infantrymen on Earth know that with the help of UAV, the Russians bring their artillery and hurry to knock down aircraft from small arms. "Honestly, Mavic is already starting to die for me. In December we were able to fly 3 km, so we didn't work from" zero ". Now the guys say they can't fly more than 500 meters," Eugene said.

Recently, a military man, who was a programmer to call the Armed Forces, has left the front that would develop new drones to replace DJI models. He is tested by Ukrainian Windhover, which promises a high range of flight. According to Yevgeny, now the Ukrainian military needs to combine more long-range but expensive reconnaissance UAVs with fixed wing, such as Lelek-100, with cheap and fast FPV-Drones.

US-unmanned aircraft expert from the US Navy Center Samuel Bendett believes that technological changes should be in favor of Ukraine. According to his observations, the arms race now continues not only between the military, but also between volunteers with their own workshops. And the Russians are very concerned about the advantage of Ukrainians in the field of drones, as the Armed Forces can apply them during a counter -offensive.