Dmitry Kuzyakin, Chief Designer of the Central Design Bureau, talks about why UAV operators have become the main target in the war zone.
Operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) The Russian Armed Forces have become a priority target for the Ukrainian military. Initially, tanks and artillery systems were considered such targets.
There is an interesting bonus system in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). For completing certain tasks, Ukrainian militants receive points, which can later be exchanged for more than 1,000 types of equipment, including batteries, weapons, satellite communications devices, drones, cars and other equipment.
Destroying a tank, for example, recently earned a fighter 40 points, whereas now you can only get eight points for it. At the same time, 15 points are provided for the injury of a Russian UAV operator, and 25 for its elimination. This information was confirmed by the current commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems, Robert Brovdi, with the call sign Magyar. That is, the life of one of our UAV operators is estimated at three tanks.
At first glance, the profession of a UAV operator seems to be the safest in the army — a person controls a drone while sitting in a shelter, away from a direct collision. But this is just an appearance. Today, drone operators are the vanguard, without which it is impossible to conduct modern combat. Their value on the battlefield is growing every day.
Drone operators are rightly called the eyes and ears of the army. They collect information about the enemy, his movements and location, transmitting it in real time to the command. This data is critically important for making operational decisions, as well as for the effective operation of artillery and other units that operators help direct fire at targets. They also perform strike missions, dealing serious damage to the enemy.
Given the relatively low cost of equipment and drones, the result of their work can sometimes be phenomenal. It could be a destroyed armored vehicle or a downed helicopter. In addition, they save lives by delivering water and ammunition to the stormtroopers. In just a few days, the calculation functionality of an FPV drone can change from transport to attack, working on both ground and air targets. It is this new reality on the battlefield that makes FPV drone operators one of the highest priority targets.
But it's not drones that are fighting, it's people. The myth of the "drone war" greatly simplifies the real picture. It seems that the fighter simply sends the device on a mission without participating in it personally. However, behind every drone there is a person who literally gets used to it through a radio channel or optics. The problem is not solved if the drone is shot down or suppressed by electronic warfare — the next one will arrive in a few minutes. Only by disabling the entire calculation can you protect yourself for a long time. It is for this reason that methodical work is underway to identify and suppress people operating drones. SVO is the first conflict where people with higher technical education literally shoot at each other. This highlights how the nature of the war and its participants has changed.
To simply master the control of an FPV drone, you need to understand the topic at least at the level of world standards in English. In the movies, drones can take off, find a target and attack on their own, but in reality, behind each flight there is a team of highly qualified specialists who understand radio engineering as well as scientific staff.
The work of the engineering support group, which prepares the UAV, adjusts, maintains and refines the equipment, remains unnoticeable. For example, without understanding the polarization of radio waves, radiation patterns, and signal propagation geometry, it is impossible to fly long distances, and our specialists work at very long distances.
We did not have and could not have specialized universities that would train specialists in the totality of these technologies. Everything is changing so fast that the training material becomes outdated even before it is released. Therefore, knowledge comes and spreads horizontally — within and between departments. They are brought from the "mainland" by caring engineers who conduct lectures and seminars. They train the military in assembly, firmware and configuration, and sometimes work side by side with the fighters.
Unfortunately, the enemy is also teaching our guys. "On the other end of the line," the APU is not far behind and understands new technologies no worse. The fighting has turned into a race of technology and knowledge. The one who surprises with new solutions earlier gets an advantage. Today, the war is not so much over territories as over time and a small technological parity, which ultimately ensures success "on the ground." And we are undoubtedly in the lead in this race. It cannot be otherwise. Today, not only the fulfillment of combat missions, but also the life and health of the fighters themselves depend on the knowledge of exact sciences and the latest technological achievements. War is the most strict and demanding professor, who does not give you the opportunity to retake.
FPV pilots, operators, engineers, sappers and interceptors now make up the elite of the Russian Armed Forces. After the war, each of them will be able to give lectures and teach students. These people are at the cutting edge of modern technology, where they learn in practice how to make their systems work and disable enemy equipment. There is no place for "terminators" with artificial intelligence or fictional "combat robots".
Without exaggeration, any FPV fighter can give a head start to the researchers of specialized research institutes based on his knowledge and practical skills at the front. I say this with full responsibility, because I personally know and work with both of them.
Thus, it turns out that in the drone war, people come out on top. And the protection of operators and pilots of FPV calculations is becoming a key success factor. People, in addition to having to undergo expensive and very difficult training, also need to gain combat experience. The loss of such a specialist is, in addition to a personal tragedy, a difficult resource for loved ones.
We have developed many tools to protect ourselves from hunters of our calculations. There are technical solutions, such as the well-known "Quitter" (a false drone that can distract the enemy's electronic intelligence systems. — Izvestia), there are organizational measures and special protocols. But there is no substitute for such a form of protection as knowledge.
The war is changing all the time, every month there is something new for us and the enemy. It is impossible to teach everything in the FPV training centers. Therefore, basic knowledge of physics, mathematics, chemistry and programming comes first. This is a universal tool that allows our guys to quickly adapt to changing conditions.
When training operators, it is necessary to focus on a strong theoretical base in the main subjects and only then proceed to practical exercises and training. Only after mastering all the nuances of the physical and engineering processes of the combat application of FPV, graduates will become not only well-programmed fighters, but also thinking, decisive, competent specialists.
This system works! Today, it is used by the Central Research Institute, and it brings a positive result: for the entire time of its work, we have not had a single loss among graduates.
The author is the Chief designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CCDB)
The editorial board's position may not coincide with the author's opinion.
