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I've been following the ISW blog on Ukraine quite closely. It really does seem like small, cheap, commercially available drones are increasingly widely used on

by n4r9 3y ago

I've been following the ISW blog on Ukraine quite closely. It really does seem like small, cheap, commercially available drones are increasingly widely used on both sides. They're used not just for direct strikes, but also reconnaissance and transporting supplies. They're more expendable and easier for teams on the ground to deploy. They typically can fly at lower altitudes and therefore are better at avoiding modern air defence systems. Also they're a more recent innovation, which typically means the enemy has fewer strategies already in place to defend against it.

Trombone12 3y ago
Drones aren't that new militarily speaking, and aren't particularly survivable against Russian EW systems: they're simply cheap enough that Ukraine can afford to replace the current rate of losses of about 10 000 UAVs per month (Meatgrinder: Russian Tactics in the Second Year of Its Invasion of Ukraine, p. iii)
- n4r9 3y ago
  The OP was questioning whether small drones are proving particularly useful in the Ukraine war. As far as I can tell they definitely are. Their affordability is certainly part of the reason why. Another reason is that their size, speed and altitude make them more difficult for traditional air defense systems to counteract. > These drones are too small, slow, and low for jet fighters or anti-aircraft missiles to take out https://breakingdefense.com/2023/06/dumb-and-cheap-when-facing-electronic-warfare-in-ukraine-small-drones-quantity-is-quality/ https://breakingdefense.com/2023/06/dumb-and-cheap-when-faci... > We have developed small radars capable of detecting compact, low-speed targets, which is exactly what drones are. Traditional radars often fail to detect such targets due to their low-altitude flight, as they are primarily designed to intercept high-flying objects like airplanes and missiles. https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/08/13/russians-are-working-on-a-new-low-altitude-anti-drone-sensor/ https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/08/13/russians-are-workin...

by n4r9 3y ago

Trombone12 3y ago

Drones aren't that new militarily speaking, and aren't particularly survivable against Russian EW systems: they're simply cheap enough that Ukraine can afford to replace the current rate of losses of about 10 000 UAVs per month (Meatgrinder: Russian Tactics in the Second Year of Its Invasion of Ukraine, p. iii)

n4r9 3y ago
The OP was questioning whether small drones are proving particularly useful in the Ukraine war. As far as I can tell they definitely are. Their affordability is certainly part of the reason why. Another reason is that their size, speed and altitude make them more difficult for traditional air defense systems to counteract. > These drones are too small, slow, and low for jet fighters or anti-aircraft missiles to take out https://breakingdefense.com/2023/06/dumb-and-cheap-when-facing-electronic-warfare-in-ukraine-small-drones-quantity-is-quality/ https://breakingdefense.com/2023/06/dumb-and-cheap-when-faci... > We have developed small radars capable of detecting compact, low-speed targets, which is exactly what drones are. Traditional radars often fail to detect such targets due to their low-altitude flight, as they are primarily designed to intercept high-flying objects like airplanes and missiles. https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/08/13/russians-are-working-on-a-new-low-altitude-anti-drone-sensor/ https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/08/13/russians-are-workin...