Drone FPV Ukrainian attack Launch Blow up entire Russian troops in the Truck

aling through the Drone operator's base made up of buildings left standing amid the fierce fighting in a village near the town of cers in the Eastern region of denet a soldier using the war Nam kavi Ukrainian for curly an ironic play on his shaved head talks me through exactly how much explosive is required to take out an armored vehicle with a bomber drone we can fill them with more explosives between 600 and 700 g usually enough to destroy or disable a light armored vehicle a tank is more diff

icult but it can be done if the bomb is dropped in the right place the explosive in anti-personnel versions can be surrounded by ball bearings or Nails as we walk I noticed that camouflage net coverings are draped across open walkways to prevent the base from being seen by the Russians drone operators on both sides of the war know they are each other's new favorite Target as Ukrainian and Russian forces have fought themselves to a grinding but bloody stalemate along most of the 600 Mi of front l

ines attention has increasingly shifted to the skies with missiles drones air defense systems and planes raining death down from above unmanned aerial Vehicles uavs commonly known as drones have emerged as a priority for both Ukraine and Russia for Ukraine it is something they can craft and adapt that isn't reliant on help from the West for a country outnumbered and outgunned by a far larger enemy it is this Innovation that is key to key of surprising Vladimir Putin's forces drones are likely to

dominate the next phase of the war and a race is on to develop autonomous guidance systems using artificial intelligence AI to make drones almost invulnerable to existing electronic warfare methods capable of disabling or destroying them for now Curley who worked for 22 years in the IT industry before volunteering for military service the day after Putin's Invasion began Works in what he calls his laboratory experimenting with different types of explosive device that can either be released from

expensive bomber drones which can return intact after their mission or strapped to Suicide or kamakazi drones which are destroyed When They smash into their targets the drones can fly 12 to 13 km depending on how fast they are flown the weight they carry wind speed and direction and the temperature the colder it is the slower it is he explained much depends on the type of battery we have modified drones with an extra battery but that makes them a bit heavier so you're not doubling the flight di

stance because the 3D printed bombs have lighter casings than the metal ones we can fill them with more explosives the Chinese mavic brand of drone which costs between 1,600 and 4,800 depending ending on such factors as whether it is fitted with a daytime camera or a more expensive nighttime version has become the most popular of those used by Ukraine Curley explains that last year the Chinese manufacturers probably at the behest of their Kremlin friends he believes introduced a tweak designed t

o prevent the drones from operating in Ukraine but he says Ukrainian it experts quickly found a way around that obstacle but as ever more drones are used and each side gets better at destroying them ukrainians have searched around for cheaper options and quicker methods to replenish the inevitable losses the solution has been to make them or as much of them as possible domestically many of the components though have to be imported from abroad and ukrainians and Russians have been competing to bu

y up huge quantities of available parts from wherever they can be found inside laboratory arrays of four-propeller quadcopter drones cover worktops here we experiment how best to use what is available and how to improve it or design new methods he says he adds that destroying enemy equipment is more important than using up a drone to hit a few men but he says drones are used if a Russian human wave assault threatens to overwhelm a Ukrainian position as Ukraine's artillery shell Supply has become

critically low following a bitter dispute in the US Congress that has blocked military aid to K drones have taken on tasks previously performed by the big guns this base curly works from is operated by members of his 10th independent Mountain assault Brigade defending since the summer of 2022 around 20 miles of the most viciously contested Frontline threading through Ukraine it is located in a mostly deserted village where many of the houses have been reduced to Rubble or charred skeletons by a

rtillery and the one main road is cratered by shell fire and churned up by tanks and other heavy armored vehicles as well as trucks and ambulances sprinting to and from the front line curly takes us around the base and into some of the remaining houses which have rooms with banks of video screen showing images from cameras carried by the drones as they hunt for targets or attack their prey other rooms provide sleeping quarters a nearby field has metal Hoops rigged up for drone operators to pract

ice flying through or test out modified uavs the main task of the base is to support the brigade's artillery positions by spotting and destroying Russian Artillery or howitzers that could Target Ukrainian positions until last year the uavs used in the conflict were relatively slow and guided by operators monitoring screens that showed images from the drones cameras since last summer they have been overtaken by firstperson view fpv drones where the operator wears goggles allowing them to see dire

ctly through the uav's camera and thus guide it more precisely in real time this type of drone is more maneuverable and faster than the older varieties can fly at around 60 MPH and can go further up to 15 miles depending on conditions their pilots require more training to hone their skills the group of combat drone Flyers introduced to the independent are mostly young they ask not to be photographed their leader in his early 20s Sports a beard and a ponytail they have their own bases with living

quarters storage and repair areas like Curly's laboratory they are usually behind the front line but the pilots Drive nearer to carry out their missions is