Today, assault operations can no longer be imagined without close interaction with small UAVs — both for reconnaissance and control, and as a strike force. Drone calculations give commanders a picture of the battle, accompanying the fighters, adjust the fire of mortars or artillery of a higher level and can hit targets themselves if they are inconvenient for other firepower. Izvestia learned how the calculation of drones of the assault unit of the Center group of forces works.
Today, assault operations can no longer be imagined without close interaction with small UAVs — both for reconnaissance and control, and as a strike force. Drone calculations give commanders a picture of the battle, accompanying the fighters, adjust the fire of mortars or artillery of a higher level and can hit targets themselves if they are inconvenient for other firepower. Izvestia learned how the calculation of drones of the assault unit of the Center group of forces works.
Combat crew
Today, the commander, the operator of the reconnaissance copter (it is also used to drop grenades) and the pilot of the FPV kamikaze drone work together in the UAV group.
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
— We start our work before everyone else. That is, we roll into our positions before the stormtroopers and start moving. We look at the forest fields, we look at their route, how they will go, where they need to go. We thoroughly look at each forest field. If we find any enemy fortification, we pass this information to our commander, and he is already interacting with the assault group. She will be aware — we find a landmark, show the point where it all is. And the assault group already knows what to do," says the operator of the reconnaissance copter with the call sign Washer.
In addition to adjusting the artillery, the scout "leads" the pilot of the FPV drone. The viewing width of the latter is small, so the route and approach to the target take place under the supervision and at the direction of the operator of the second copter, who sees a more complete picture. Shaiba explains that during recent battles, together with kamikaze drones, he participated in the destruction of at least six enemy firing points. He had to destroy the equipment himself by dropping ammunition — it was an enemy pickup truck, the parking point of which had been detected shortly before.
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
— I flew, observed forest belts, accompanied our stormtroopers. I noticed that a pickup truck was leaving on the road and moving towards our group, where there were assault operations. With the help of their calculation, they quickly picked up the reset and threw it clearly on the hood. The car broke down, the infantry ran away," says Shaiba.
He is from the Urals, now he is 21 years old, he volunteered for the army. And he got the profession of an operator already in the military at three-month courses. He has been on the front line in active battles since November last year.
— I went because my father went. He's in another brigade, I'm here. We saw him here in Avdiivka. When I joined the army, my father quarreled a little bit, and then resigned himself and said he was proud of me," explains Washer. His mother and two sisters are waiting for him at home, who help her while both men are at the front.
Together with the Washer, an operator of FPV drones with the call sign Kaban, who also came to the front as a volunteer, works. He walked purposefully — he wanted to be the operator of an attack drone. FPV drones are very demanding on operator skills: it is necessary to develop motor skills over hundreds of hours of training, train the vestibular apparatus to work with glasses, and this is not counting engineering skills and general training. The fighter is pleased that he managed to master all the necessary skills.
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Among the destroyed targets, he does not yet have enemy armored vehicles. Providing support for the stormtroopers, he hit the enemy's firing points and manpower disguised in landings.
— We get in, and people pass on. The more we get in, the more they will move forward. It will be much easier and freer for them," explains the Boar.
Commanding experience
The commander of the group with the call sign Cat says that in addition to direct flight skills, tactics are also important.
— We prepare for each task in different ways, depending on the terrain. We leave in advance before the start of the task, prepare a place for ourselves, escape routes, new key points from which we may work, constantly change the location," says the Cat. In addition to two operators and a commander with a group, a sapper operator also always leaves for the task.
The cat, like his comrades, joined the army as a volunteer. But he began his combat career as a private in an assault unit, where he became the commander of an assault platoon during the fighting. And he received the profession of a drone after a vacation at the suggestion of the command.
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
— Somewhere in your experience you understand better than just an operator. My commanders and I exchange information and so we break up the enemy, move forward," says the Cat about how his experience as an assault platoon commander helps today in direct support of stormtroopers from the air.
In April of this year, Izvestia saw the work of the drone control center. There, the shift on duty online observes what the operators of various UAVs of several interacting units see at once. The picture from all the devices in the air is broadcast in high quality. Combat control headquarters, artillery and reconnaissance units have similar capabilities. They receive the broadcast at the same time and can make decisions quickly.
Dmitry Astrakhan
