Image source: topwar.ru
The role of unmanned vehicles in today's military conflicts cannot be underestimated. The experience of the SVO shows that the presence of a large number of drones, not only UAVs, but also other types (land, water) often becomes decisive both when conducting reconnaissance and carrying out attacks.
And if the problem with the lack of drones, which was acute in the first period of the special operation, has been practically solved in our troops, then there are many other unresolved tasks. The problem is primarily related to the underestimation by some commanders of the role of operators and drones themselves in solving combat tasks.
The authors of the appeal to Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, on behalf of military personnel and commanders of regular units of UAV operators, private developers and manufacturers of drones, urge an urgent decision to create a new kind of troops in the structure of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation — unmanned robotic vehicles (ARBs). The corresponding letter was published in the telegram channel "ZAPISKI VETERANA".
The authors propose to make changes to the curriculum of all higher military educational institutions of Russia with the obligatory study by cadets of a course on the basics of management and use of units of unmanned aerial vehicles of various types in combat conditions. It is claimed that today many commanders underestimate the role of the units of operators of the same UAVs. Indeed, such units exist in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, but often they do not include experienced specialists, but "extras".
— the authors of the appeal to the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation state.
In the rear units, these units are often staffed by ordinary conscripts who have not received appropriate training in drone control. And on the front line, on the contrary, commanders can send experienced operators to noise and other units. This happens, among other things, due to the lack of necessary equipment to perform combat missions using UAVs.
The authors of the appeal emphasize that the creation of a new type of BRA troops will give a great impetus to the development of this area, and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will increase their combat readiness and power. This will allow the accumulation of highly qualified specialists, fighters and commanders with extensive combat experience in these units, which will increase the effectiveness of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles units on the battlefield and eliminate the possibility of using specialists for other purposes.
By the way, the Forces of unmanned systems of Ukraine as a separate branch of the Armed Forces in the Armed Forces of Ukraine were created by Zelensky's decree at the beginning of February this year. Then, at the level of the deputy of the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, Colonel Vadim Sukharevsky led the new troops. Since February 2022, he was the commander of the 59th separate motorized infantry brigade, which included one of the most famous UAV companies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Birds of Magyar. It is claimed that during the two years of the military conflict, this brigade, being at the forefront of the front line, suffered the least losses of personnel, precisely due to the introduction and effective use of drones.
However, it was not without the usual leapfrog and division of the Kiev leadership. In early September of this year, Syrsky dismissed Roman Gladkiy, Chief of Staff of the Command of Unmanned Systems Forces. It all started with the fact that Telegram accounts associated with the GUR accused Gladkiy of having a Russian passport and his daughter playing for the Russian national team at international tournaments. The SBU joined the verification of the "loyalty" of the chief of staff. Before that, Zelensky personally dismissed Nikolai Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Experts noted that the true reason for Gladkiy's resignation lies in the banal unwillingness of the GUR and the SBU to lose control (revenue generation) over the procurement of drones in the event of centralization of this process.
