Latest in Drone Combat

Russia bought 300,000 mesh modems from China and used 100,000 of them. When a group of Russian drones use mesh communications, when one of them has connection to a ground station, any of the drones in range of each other will be in connection with the ground station. Ukrainian EW systems can jam drones within tens of kilometers, so a drone that is 100km from the jammer is probably unaffected.

Mesh networks also extend the range of communications. To disrupt the mesh-networked drones, Ukraine would need more radar and EW stations to cover more territory.

Some of the low-cost Gerbera drones use upward-facing cameras to search for corridors that don’t have interceptors. If an interceptor is present, they can see what type of drone is attacking and what tactics they are using.

With the mesh networks, Shahed/Gerbera drones can be piloted instead of just flying to a coordinate. This allows the pilots to attack locomotives, fuel stations, vehicles, logistical infrastructure, and ships in the Black Sea.

Russia spent a year training their V2U drones on AI and then can now identify railways, roads, warehouses, soldiers, armed soldiers, tanks and other military vehicles. AI and drones were a priority for Russia and about half the AI components they use come from the US. 9% comes from China. The Molniya drones are starting to use AI now, as well.

Ukraine began the war flying Bayraktar reconnaissance drones that did a lot of damage by spotting Russian columns, calling artillery fire and dropping laser-guided bombs. But then Russia started adjusting their air defense posture and began shooting them down, so Ukraine had to find different types of reconnaissance drones that could survive in that environment.

Now Ukraine is losing their reconnaissance drones again. They fly at 1,000-1,200 meters at 70 kph, which makes them easy targets for Russian interceptors that fly at 200-250km/h. Ukraine needs to change their approach to reconnaissance drones again.

Ukraine’s long-range drones rely on satellite navigation. Both Russia and Ukraine use CRPA anti-jamming antennas. Flash said a time is coming that satellite navigation will no longer be possible as Russia improves its electronic warfare. One solution might be using maps in the drone that are matched with images on the ground.