Image source: topwar.ru
Experts and observers have rightly dubbed the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine the "drone war". American expert David Hambling analyzed the equipment and prospects for saturation of the UAV armies of the United States, Ukraine and Russia. He outlined his vision of this topic in an article for the military analytical publication 19FortyFive.
The author noted that it is these countries that are leading in terms of the supply of drones, primarily for obtaining intelligence, for the needs of the armed forces. However, this task is solved differently in each state, and there are problems everywhere.
At the end of last year, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said that the department he heads does not make an official purchase of Chinese drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is due, in particular, to the fact that one of the world's main manufacturers of multicopters, the Chinese company DJI, will not allow their products to be used for military purposes.
Therefore, the purchase of drones for the Ukrainian army, sometimes in the form of individual parts with subsequent assembly, is carried out by private individuals and non-governmental organizations. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine oversees this process.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, only three charitable organizations purchased more than 10,000 quadrocopters for the Ukrainian armed forces in 2022. Basically, these are small and relatively cheap Mavics and Autel UAVs manufactured by DJI, but there are also American Skydio 2 aerial photography devices among them, which cost about $ 1,100.
According to the expert, the Ukrainian army is gradually forming one of the world's largest drone units, by now more than 10,000 operators have already been trained to control them.
Ivan Tolchinsky, CEO of the Ukrainian manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles Atlas Dynamics, believes that for the needs of the army it is necessary to establish mass production of inexpensive domestic drones, which he calls "disposable". In general, Hambling believes, the Ukrainian armed forces do not lack UAVs, but they are still far from mass production in the country.
The situation is different in the procurement of drones by the US Department of Defense. The Pentagon focuses on the development and supply of complex UAV systems that perform broad intelligence tasks. So recently, 30 Skydio RQ-28As short-range quadrocopters (SRR), developed on the basis of civilian models, were purchased for the needs of the American army. One set of SRR, including two drones, a ground control unit, digital communications and a set of day and night vision sensors, cost the Pentagon almost $ 40,000. More functional SRR Tranche 2 kits, which will be delivered to the US Army in the period up to 2026, will already cost $ 240,000.
Such high cost of unmanned systems will lead to a relatively small number of their deliveries to the American armed forces. In addition, the loss of such a device in battle can have significant consequences.
— the expert summarizes.
Speaking about the supply of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with inexpensive drones, the author notes that Russia faces almost the same problems as Ukraine. The main volumes of supplies of cheap UAVs for the needs of the Russian army are carried out by charitable organizations "created by the mothers or grandmothers of soldiers serving." At the same time, Russian volunteers have to buy the same Chinese copters through intermediaries at inflated prices.
— says Samuel Bendett, an expert on Russian unmanned systems and an adviser to the analytical centers CNA and CNAS.
The expert believes that despite the statements at the highest level, Russian enterprises will not be able to quickly increase the production of a large number of drones for the needs of the army. In addition, Bendett believes that domestic drones will cost more than their Chinese counterparts.
The author of the article summarizes that for Ukraine, the main problem in the purchase and production of drones is underfunding. The United States, betting on expensive disembodied complexes, risks quantitative under-equipment of the UAV army. Russia will be able to solve this problem if it really implements a large-scale program for the production of its own drones at a low cost, for which, in particular, it is necessary to have its own component base.
In general, the expert believes that in the conditions of a modern military conflict, drones should be used as conventional ammunition.
