Ukraine’s Military Intelligence: Inside Its Drone Operations

“Hots,” commander of an unmanned systems crew with Artan, a special unit of the Active Operations Department of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), discusses the (r)evolution of warfare driven by unmanned systems, how the front line has changed, and provides key insights into how Ukraine’s Military Intelligence conducts drone operations.

CONTENT
Evolution of Drones and Operations
Repelling Russian Advances
Key Challenges Amid Drone Saturation
Operational Planning
Logistics in Focus

Evolution of Drones and Operations

Different types of drones are currently being used, including radio-controlled FPVs and fiber-optic drones. Each mission requires its own method of engagement. Many people think FPVs are used only for strikes. In reality, that is not the case. They are also very often used for reconnaissance.

Strike FPVs can be used to reconnoiter terrain or Russian positions in places that even a Mavic or a fixed-wing reconnaissance drone cannot always reach. When dealing with houses, dugouts, or rubble, FPVs can fly inside, observe what is happening, and pass the information on.

Sometimes this takes the form of a live feed that can be viewed at a command post. In other cases, a short video is simply recorded and passed to the units that need the information.

This allows assault groups to understand in advance how a position is laid out, where the shelters are, and where the access routes are. It makes their work much easier.

Fiber-optic drones provide even greater possibilities. They can literally enter almost any building. If Russian troops are inside, the drone can be used not only for reconnaissance but also to immediately engage and destroy the enemy.

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are also being used increasingly because of the high level of Russian FPV activity and the mining of logistical routes. They can deliver drones, ammunition, fuel for generators, food, and everything else needed by FPV crews. This makes logistics safer. It is better to lose a robotic system than personnel carrying out a logistics mission themselves.

An FPV crew consists of four soldiers: a crew commander, an FPV pilot, a relay-drone pilot, and a loader. Any member of the crew can replace another, as everyone is trained to perform FPV-related tasks.

The clearest measure of success comes after a mission, when the number of enemy personnel eliminated becomes apparent. In some cases, a single crew can eliminate 50–60 Russian troops during one operation, and sometimes close to a hundred. Four people can carry out that amount of work.

Over two years of service, a single crew, and later two crews, could eliminate two or three hundred enemy personnel, or potentially even more. In effect, eight people over that period could eliminate the equivalent of three companies. Not in a single day, of course, but when the overall results are considered, that is roughly what it amounts to.

There is even a friendly competition between FPV crews. When reconnaissance spots a Russian soldier, every crew wants to be the first to reach the target and eliminate him.

Repelling Russian Advances

In the spring on the Zaporizhzhia axis, Russian forces launched a large-scale assault involving more than 50 pieces of equipment over the course of several hours.