This article was written by the People’s Project volunteer project. They collect money for the needs of the Armed Forces. Check out their transparent online donation service.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or “drones” are remotely controlled devices used in many industries: agriculture, reconnaissance, adjusting artillery fire, etc. In this article, we will talk in detail about drones, military and commercial, we will reveal their pros and cons, as well as the advantages of using them for the Armed Forces.
What drones does the Armed Forces use?
There are four classes of UAVs, all of which are used by our military.
1st class – micro drones that are typically used for civilian purposes. In Ukraine, the most popular models of this class of UAVs are the Chinese company DJI and the American Autel.
The models are small and easy to use. It takes a few hours to learn how to fly a drone (if you’ve never used one before). These UAVs have limited range and short battery life, and cannot fly continuously for more than five hours.
2nd grade – medium-range unmanned aerial vehicles that conduct reconnaissance at tactical levels. These are Ukrainian UAVs “Stork-100” and “Furia”. Specially designed for military purposes, these devices can work for three hours.
3rd grade – operational-tactical drones, which can fly continuously for up to 10 hours, have an increased range and are used to monitor the enemy and plan military operations. Ukrainian-made UAVs PD-2 (the first generation of this drone was created thanks to collection) and Raybird-3 fit into this category.
4th grade – strategic UAVs or attack UAVs. The Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 is one of them. In addition to conducting reconnaissance and carrying guided bombs, it can stay in the air for 24 hours.
What UAVs does Ukraine produce?
Most Ukrainian drone manufacturers that have passed certification and cooperate with the military began producing drones in 2014-2015, when military operations in Ukraine were limited to Donbas. Athlon-Avia, Skyeton, DeViRo, Ukrspetssystems and UA Dynamics have become well-known brands in the UAV market.
Today, the greatest value of drones is that they help our military destroy the enemy, and they also reduce casualties through their ability to conduct unobtrusive aerial reconnaissance.
For useful information about commercial drones used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, TRO and SZG on the hottest areas of the front, we turned to Viktor Gozho, a volunteer from the People’s Project fund, which is in charge of collecting money for combat drones for the liberation of Kherson Oblast.
Who are the People’s Project?
On the initiative of several volunteers, the “People’s Project” was launched in March 2014. During a visit to Chongar, they witnessed the appalling provision of the paratroopers of the 1st Battalion of the 79th Brigade. Volunteers bought food, clothing and other things for the troops at their own expense, but soon developed an online service to collect donations.
All donations are collected through the system of non-cash transfers, and assistance in kind is also accepted. “Narodny” emphasizes the transparency of income and expenses, its reporting is open and available to all users, and data on new donations appear automatically on the collection page.
The Mykolaiv Regional Charitable Fund “Regional Charity Fund” performs a legal function in the project. On the “Narodny” website there is a description, a report on receipts and expenses, a forum and a news feed for each of them. The projects are divided into three categories: “Army”, “Health care” and “Social”.
The feasibility of using civilian drones in the conduct of hostilities
Since the appearance of Mavic and Autel drones, the so-called aerial reconnaissance has appeared in every unit of the Armed Forces and Defense Forces, which has changed the nature of defensive and offensive operations.
Despite a fairly wide range of domestic drones for combat use, for example, “Stork-100”, “Sokil-2”, “Kazhan-1”, PD-1, PD-2, Spectator, or M-7 “Sky Patrol of the number is still limited and does not allow mass use of them throughout the front line.
That is why civilian models of drones came to the rescue, and their number and availability helped our fighters to successfully destroy the movement. Although the concept of using UAVs in combat is not new, it certainly offers enormous advantages. Drones have greatly improved the capabilities of our military, unfortunately, and so have the Orks.
What drones did the fighters of the Kherson Division choose?
Because drones provide fighters with real-time information about the location of targets, the topography of the area and the movement of the enemy. Compared to high-altitude aircraft, drones can shoot much closer without compromising the quality of photos and videos, as well as themselves, because due to their small size, they are more difficult to notice.
Compared to conventional aircraft, drones are faster and easier to deploy. They are easier to manage and do not require long training. In addition, many drones do not need a runway, and some models can easily fit in a backpack.
DJI Matrix 300
The first request for a drone that “Narodny” received was from a brigade of artillerymen that was burning the movement near Kherson. They needed a powerful drone for fire correction and chose the DJI Matrice 300 model for its stability in gusts of wind and its ability to climb up to 7 km.
It is interesting that the people nicknamed this drone “cow” because of its gigantic size, because you will need a whole suitcase to transport it.
Of the commercial drones, Matrice has six gimbal options with different cameras, thermal imagers and rangefinders:
- DJI Zenmuse L1 is a Livox Lidar module and a 1-inch CMOS sensor camera on a 3-axis stabilized gimbal.
- DJI Zenmuse P1 is a full-frame matrix with interchangeable lenses with a fixed focus on a 3-axis stabilized gimbal.
- DJI Zenmuse H20 – 20 MP camera with 23x optical zoom (4K/FHD at 30 fps), 12 MP FPV camera with wide-angle lens and laser rangefinder (from 3-1200 m; accuracy: ±0.2 m + distance × 0.1
- DJI Zenmuse H20T – 20 MP camera with 23x optical zoom (4K/FHD at 30 fps), 12 MP FPV camera with wide-angle lens, laser rangefinder (from 3-1200 m; accuracy: ±0.2 m + distance ×0 ) and a radiometric thermal imaging camera.
- DJI Zenmuse XT2 – radiometric thermal matrix “Senso” and visual 4K matrix (12 MP 4K/FHD).
- DJI Zenmuse Z30 is a gimbal with a camera with 30x optical zoom.
Because the drone has a solid payload, this model is very popular among our FZG units. It allows them to transport some explosive joy into the Russian trenches.
Benefits: The ability to add a mount that can carry multiple 80mm min or grenades has multiple mount options with different cameras.
Disadvantages: The size of the drone and the noise from its blades increase the possibility of its being detected and shot down.
Aerial reconnaissance provides information from a long distance in real time without putting our fighters at risk. In addition, the same information helps commanders deploy their troops more effectively, keeping units safe.
DJI Mavic 3
Since the “cow” is worth a lot, volunteers need more time to collect funds. Therefore, in the spring, fighters were offered to test a simpler and cheaper model — the DJI Mavic 3. It turned out that this drone is no less useful and can see as far as the DJI Matrice 300, because it has the following cameras on board:
- Hasselblad L2D-20c: 20 MP 5.1K camera, with 4/3 CMOS matrix with electronic shutter, and adjustable aperture f/2.8 – f/11, equiv. focal length 24 mm (extends to 15.5 mm with.)
- Tele Camera: 12 MP 4K camera, with ½-inch CMOS matrix with electronic shutter, with 28x zoom, f/4.4 aperture, equiv. focal length 162 mm and FOV 15 °.
The most popular and convenient model among our military was the DJI Mavic 3. Having a fairly good autonomy (up to 45 minutes in the air) and a powerful camera, “Narodny” equipped dozens of units with such drones, additional batteries for them, charging stations, etc.
From many brigades in the first months of the war, requests for this particular model began to arrive. The guys at ground zero have a sundress that works well and when communicating between units they shared their experience of using various drones.
Later, it also became clear that the units of the SZH, which spend a lot of time in the air, are catastrophically short of the declared autonomy time of the drone. Therefore, they needed additional batteries and charging stations, with which they had to help very often.
Since there is only one battery in the DJI Mavic 3 kit, the Narodnoy team decided that the DJI Mavic 3 Fly More Combo would be the best option for our military. Especially for those brigades and units that are not yet equipped with drones. Because even if they lose the drone, they will still have the drone kit and only need to equip themselves with the drone carcass. With the Fly More Combo set, you can immediately get:
- 3 intelligent batteries,
- 3 sets of propellers,
- HUB hub for 3 batteries x1.
DJI Mavic 3 does not have an additional suspension by design, but our craftsmen were able to adapt them to drop weight in enemy trenches.
A 3D printer came to the rescue, as well as a very simple electrical circuit based on a photocell that responds to a lantern built into the drone’s belly. When the operator on the remote control turns on the flashlight, the photocell reacts to it and starts the motor hook on which the vog hangs.
In this case, you need to hang it over the enemy trench, turn on the reset system with a flashlight, and after a few seconds of free fall, it will make a mini-disco in the Russian trench. Then you have to turn the drone quickly, because enemies can shoot it down.
The only disadvantage of using such a system is the small weight of the projectiles. Even if the drone operator can drop it accurately, the wind can blow it aside during flight.
Benefits:Compactness, quick preparation for departure, camera resolution and zoom, autonomy.
Disadvantages: Firmware versions v.400 or v.600 must be used to secure the drone from enemy EW (the 600th firmware is required by the Mavic 3 to be able to disable the Drone id or transponder. So that the aeroscope cannot see the drone. This is the last firmware that is required APU, to make the drone inconspicuous for EW), can pull only one VOG.
Autel EVO
The third most popular commercial drone model is Autel. As with DJI, you can change the gimbal with the cameras on the drone if you can’t buy a different drone model. Therefore, the following cameras are available on EVO models:
- EVO 2 version: 48MP 8K camera built on a ½-inch Sony CMOS sensor.
- EVO 2 Pro version: 20 MP 6K camera built on the latest generation 1-inch Sony CMOS sensor.
- EVO 2 Dual version: Hybrid camera built on two matrices: 48 MP 8K ½-inch Sony CMOS + FLIR BOSON LWR thermal imaging module
EVO drones can do all the same things as DJI. Our craftsmen have developed a reset system for them based on a photocell and a motor. Like the DJI drone, this one also has a belly light that turns on from the remote.
Benefits: Compactness, quick preparation for departure, camera resolution and zoom, autonomy.
Disadvantages: Structurally, there is no additional suspension.
Performance characteristics of drones
Since today drones save the lives of our soldiers, it is necessary to understand their features and technical capabilities. In the table below, you will find a comparison of three models of drones that successfully work on the front lines and help burn the enemy.
| DJI Mavic 3 | Autel EVO II | DJI Matrice 300 RTK | |
| Matrix type | 4/3 CMOS Hasselblad Camera | 1/2″ CMOS | depends on the suspension chamber |
| Matrix resolution | 20MP | 48 MP | depends on the suspension chamber |
| Focal length of the lens | 24mm f/2.8-f/11 | 26mm f/1.8 | depends on the suspension chamber |
| Video resolution | 5.1K | 8K/25 fps, 6K/30 fps, 4K/60 fps | depends on the suspension chamber |
| Max. permissible wind speed | 12 m/s | 21 m/s | 15 m/s |
| Work time | 46 min | 40 min | 55 min |
| Max. flight distance | 15 km | 25 km | 15 km |
| Max. flight speed | 68 km/h | 72 km/h | 82.8 km/h |
| Weight | 895 gr | 1150 gr | 6300 gr |
| Popularity of the model | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Price | $2,049 | $2,399 | $13,700 |
As we can see from this table, Mavic and EVO series drones are very similar in terms of their technical characteristics, but there are also serious differences. For example, the 28x zoom in the DJI Mavic 3, or the high sensitivity of the camera in night mode in the Autel EVO II Pro. If the drone is needed for night flights, then Autel is better than Mavic.
Additional equipment for operators
Control panel
Flying a drone can seem like a very easy task, especially if you’re used to doing it with your smartphone or tablet. But this significantly reduces the accuracy of control.
Another significant drawback is that the default control panel has a less secure communication channel with the drone. Because of this, very often operators fall into the REB trap and lose the drone. It is very important to use a professional controller that will improve your drone’s capabilities in the air.
If you are used to controlling the drone through your smartphone, then this is quite enough for a selfie session. But in combat conditions, our SSOs need high-quality equipment, so it is worth using a professional control panel. It not only improves the controllability of the drone, but also makes the communication more resistant to enemy EW.
FPV goggles
Usually, such glasses are used by FPV drone operators, but if our SSO needs to quickly check how the Russian woman is doing in her trenches, and for this you need to bypass a bunch of obstacles, then FPV glasses will be very useful.
Usually, when operating a drone during the day, the sun can dazzle the screen of a tablet or smartphone (attached to the remote control). In such glasses, the operator can see everything through the eyes of the drone, without being distracted by something extraneous.
The glasses transmit video in HD quality with low signal delay. When the battery is fully charged, the working time of the glasses is 110 minutes. The FPV Goggles have built-in two 2-inch screens, each with a resolution of 1440×810 pixels.
How to help the military get a drone?
Today, there are many options for how you can provide drones to our military. First of all, these are individual gatherings created by bloggers, influencers, as well as fighters with the vanguard, or Mykolaiv Vanka.
However, there are more serious options where you can help buy not one drone, but dozens. All of them will fly to the hottest points of the front, such as, for example, the gathering for drones from “Narodnoy”.
We would like to remind you that drones from this collection have already reached the 61st Separate Infantry Steppe Brigade, the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, the 36th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade and the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Since some brigades from the Kherson direction moved to hotter areas, for example, to Bakhmut, Narodny focused its support on the fighters working there. Since Russia is not yet going to make a gesture of goodwill, all that is left for us is to believe in the Armed Forces and contribute fully to support our defense capability.
Help liberate Ukrainian cities and save our compatriots by joining the fundraiser. It’s time to show the invaders how precision weapons work! You can send a donation to drones here.
