Commercial drones reshape warfare tactics in Ukrainian skies
Commercial drones have become a crucial component of the war in Ukraine, posing a significant threat to both sides. This has led to a search for the most cost-effective way to eliminate them, and the Russians have devised an intriguing solution. Let's explore their innovation.
One of the most effective and economical methods of taking down reconnaissance drones in Ukraine has been the use of FPV drones as an anti-aircraft strategy. In addition to downing drones, there have even been instances of shooting down helicopters.
Although an individual drone or its armed version costs around $1,000 (CAD 1,400), which is dozens or even hundreds of times cheaper than, for instance, man-portable air-defence systems like the 9K333 Verba, it is still a single-use solution.
It's worth noting that in recent months, China has made selling drone parts to both Russia and Ukraine significantly more difficult, prompting both sides to use commercial drones more sparingly.
An idea for a reusable anti-aircraft drone is to implement a net barrier that's able to disable the enemy drone’s propellers while preserving its own during a collision. This idea could be effective, but the net might need smaller meshes than those visible in the Russian concept shown below.
Drone destruction by ramming — a simple yet effective method
Kinetic drone counteraction is often the best approach because electronic warfare systems don't always succeed. All it takes is for the opponent to change the control signal frequency of the drones to one beyond the capabilities of known jammers, which has already occurred, or to develop drones that can attack autonomously in offline mode.
Currently, the most affordable counter-methods, such as gun systems, are few and have limited range, e.g., up to 5 kilometres for the Skynex, and the widespread use of laser weapons is still a thing of the future. In such conditions, a reusable ramming drone seems like a promising idea.
Of course, at the same time, the other party will experiment with protection methods, so it's likely we'll see the development of propeller guards or more sophisticated techniques. For example, the Russians have started equipping their drones with jammers that disrupt the video signals of attacking drones.
