5 ms·

Kinda doubtful "hobbyist-level FPV racing drones" can reliably disable tanks..

marssaxman 3y ago
"In an interview with Foreign Policy, a NATO official said that Ukrainian first-person-view drones, known commonly as FPV drones, were responsible for two-thirds of recent Russian tank losses." https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-losses-reflects-shortages-artillery-report-2024-4?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-l...
- riku_iki 3y ago
  The premise of the article is that Ukraine is not being able to disable tanks using conventional ways anymore because of lack of artillery shells. Also, "NATO official" tells nothing about quality of this report, it could be some clerks opinion.
  - marssaxman 3y ago
    I did read the article, yes, and I'm not sure what your point is. The existence of better weapons, which the Ukrainians cannot afford, changes nothing about the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago. Doubt the unnamed NATO official all you like, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how the Ukrainian army uses drones against tanks; it is completely routine.
    - riku_iki 3y ago
      > the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago its not a fact to me, I don't know who is that "NATO official" and how reliable his data. From another hand I rely on common sense that main battle tanks are hardened against direct middle caliber fire, and one need good amount of explosive to produce such impact. Javelin's warhead is 9kg, so your drone need to be able to carry it on solid distance, and this is not the level of "cheap racing drones".
      - marssaxman 3y ago
        If you are determined to remain skeptical of something which is being done every day, with a great deal of news coverage and abundant video documentation freely available to anyone who spends five minutes looking for it, there is nothing I can say that will help you. Have a nice day!
        riku_iki 3y ago
        I challenge your statements about happening every day and great deal of video documentation.
        brokenmachine 3y ago
        https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://old.reddit.com/r/combatfootage https://old.reddit.com/r/combatfootage is a good place to start. Every day. You could also search reddit for the keywords "turret toss". There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs
        riku_iki 3y ago
        > There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs that video is 1h long, on which timestamp "hobbyist-level FPV racing drone" disables tank?
        brokenmachine 3y ago
        I haven't even watched it, I was just so certain that there would be. Just from scrubbing through and looking for the usual Betaflight OSD overlay, look at 26:30.
        riku_iki 3y ago
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
brokenmachine 3y ago
You also need RPG warheads and cable ties, which kinda makes the drones not really hobbyist level anymore.
- riku_iki 3y ago
  I am more concerned that rpg weight and range add more requirements beyond "racing drone".
  - brokenmachine 3y ago
    There's also many videos of the Ukrainian drone factories with 3D printers making parts for them. I remember one video panning around in a basement with literally thousands of drone frames stacked up. They look exactly like basic hobby drone frames and the videos even show the same Betaflight OSD as any FPV hobbyist would recognize. I don't know why you are so reluctant to believe it despite the kazillion videos out there. A PG-7VL Single-stage HEAT RPG warhead is 730g of explosive. So just the warhead end is prob 1kg. It's not going to maneuver well but a large 7" drone can carry that.

"In an interview with Foreign Policy, a NATO official said that Ukrainian first-person-view drones, known commonly as FPV drones, were responsible for two-thirds of recent Russian tank losses." https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-losses-reflects-shortages-artillery-report-2024-4?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-l...

riku_iki 3y ago
The premise of the article is that Ukraine is not being able to disable tanks using conventional ways anymore because of lack of artillery shells. Also, "NATO official" tells nothing about quality of this report, it could be some clerks opinion.
- marssaxman 3y ago
  I did read the article, yes, and I'm not sure what your point is. The existence of better weapons, which the Ukrainians cannot afford, changes nothing about the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago. Doubt the unnamed NATO official all you like, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how the Ukrainian army uses drones against tanks; it is completely routine.
  - riku_iki 3y ago
    > the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago its not a fact to me, I don't know who is that "NATO official" and how reliable his data. From another hand I rely on common sense that main battle tanks are hardened against direct middle caliber fire, and one need good amount of explosive to produce such impact. Javelin's warhead is 9kg, so your drone need to be able to carry it on solid distance, and this is not the level of "cheap racing drones".
    - marssaxman 3y ago
      If you are determined to remain skeptical of something which is being done every day, with a great deal of news coverage and abundant video documentation freely available to anyone who spends five minutes looking for it, there is nothing I can say that will help you. Have a nice day!
      - riku_iki 3y ago
        I challenge your statements about happening every day and great deal of video documentation.
        brokenmachine 3y ago
        https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://old.reddit.com/r/combatfootage https://old.reddit.com/r/combatfootage is a good place to start. Every day. You could also search reddit for the keywords "turret toss". There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs
        riku_iki 3y ago
        > There's also zillions of youtube compilations that should be trivially findable. eg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=970c-takyAs that video is 1h long, on which timestamp "hobbyist-level FPV racing drone" disables tank?
        brokenmachine 3y ago
        I haven't even watched it, I was just so certain that there would be. Just from scrubbing through and looking for the usual Betaflight OSD overlay, look at 26:30.
        riku_iki 3y ago
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

brokenmachine 3y ago

You also need RPG warheads and cable ties, which kinda makes the drones not really hobbyist level anymore.

riku_iki 3y ago
I am more concerned that rpg weight and range add more requirements beyond "racing drone".
- brokenmachine 3y ago
  There's also many videos of the Ukrainian drone factories with 3D printers making parts for them. I remember one video panning around in a basement with literally thousands of drone frames stacked up. They look exactly like basic hobby drone frames and the videos even show the same Betaflight OSD as any FPV hobbyist would recognize. I don't know why you are so reluctant to believe it despite the kazillion videos out there. A PG-7VL Single-stage HEAT RPG warhead is 730g of explosive. So just the warhead end is prob 1kg. It's not going to maneuver well but a large 7" drone can carry that.