Bizarre tactics: Russian soldier's FPV drone takedown attempt goes viral

The war in Ukraine is rife with bizarre situations that were once only found in video games or action movies. One such case involves a Russian soldier attempting to take down a damaged FPV drone with a stick. We explain why this led to an explosion.

A fascinating video has surfaced online showing a Russian soldier trying to shoot down a Ukrainian FPV drone using a stick. He succeeded on the third strike, causing it to detonate.

This is not the first such "feat" among Russians, as another soldier recently tried to eliminate a drone similarly with an unlocked RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launcher.

FPV drones have become a key tool for Ukrainians, allowing them to partly mitigate shortages in equipment such as anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) or artillery systems.

The base for these drones is often stripped-down commercial drones like the DJI Mavic or DIY constructions made from readily available parts. You don't need much for these: a frame, electric motors with rotors, a control system, a camera, and a battery.

Then, explosive payloads are attached to these drones using duct tape or zip ties. These often include stripped-down PG-7VL anti-tank grenades from RPG-7 launchers, bomblets removed from cluster munitions or bombs, or hand grenades. Interestingly, in many cases, the detonator is made from two wires whose contact closes an electrical circuit and causes an explosion. In the discussed incident, the Russian soldier likely short-circuited the wires with the third strike of the stick.

FPV drones are a significant nightmare for both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers because defending against them is very difficult. Theoretically, the best defence is electronic warfare systems like the Silok-01 system, but they must be widespread, which is an issue. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the opponent won't adapt their drones to the jammer's frequency range, making them useless.

In such a case, the most effective method remains physical elimination, which, in the case of improvised methods, involves using smoothbore shotguns with an effective range of approximately 30-40 meters (about 100-130 feet). On the other hand, professional systems may include modules like the SMASH modules from the Israeli company Smart Shooter.