First Person View drones have achieved near mythical status on the front lines
Your browser does not support this video.Your browser does not support this video.v machine at its simplest. The soldier is crouched under the hull of his battered and immobilised tank. A drone languidly drifts towards him, as if taking stock of the duel. The soldier runs for it. He clambers over the front of his tank to escape. The ensuing chase has a hint of farce, with the drone in pursuit as the soldier circles the tank desperately. Within 15 seconds it is all over. The drone explodes.
If the soldiers make it into cover, the drones go back to work. Skilled pilots can guide them into underground shelters that artillery cannot reach. “Even if the enemy survives the explosion, there won’t be enough air to breathe,” says Achilles. “So they start coming out. And as soon as they do, we hit them with mortar or artillery or a fragmentation shell.” Such synergies are why Achilles thinksdrones will not replace conventional artillery for the foreseeable future.
The number of Ukrainian drone attacks that get through varies greatly along the front lines. In newly formed units, whose commanders, troops grumble, have been appointed through political connections, a hit rate of only 10% to 15% is common. In specialised units, however, such as special forces or those from Ukraine’s intelligence services, it can be 70% or 80%—though a hit is not the same as a kill.
One question is whether drones will stay cheap as armies get more accustomed to defending against them. Research by Jack Watling and his colleagues at the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank in London, which draws on Ukrainian military data, suggests they may not.
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