1/ QUICK TAKE on the Russian perceptions of a Ukrainian advantage in FPV drones: “An analysis of battlefield shows that the enemy is many times superior to the Russian military in the FPV use. At the same time, the Ukrainians have an increased FPV range - up to 30 km - due to the installment of repeaters on hexacopters (“Baba Yaga”) and fixed-wing UAVs.” 2/ “In the Kherson region, the enemy drones prevent an effective assault on the village of Krynki, where active operations resumed the day before. Electronic warfare systems supplied to the Russian military are not always able to cope with frequencies.” t.me/uav_tech/26736

1/ QUICK TAKE - Russia’s Dmitry Rogozin (former head of Roskosmos and self-styled mil-tech volunteer) sounds impressed and concerned with Ukrainian drones: “They fly in entire squadrons consisting of pairs of heavy Baba Yaga attack UAVs - each drone carries up to 6 munitions and is extremely dangerous.” 2/ “An FPV is flying next to "Baba Yaga", but it is not a kamikaze drone, but a reusable one. This type of drone is capable of diving onto a target and dropping ammo on it - like an unmanned Junkers bomber.”

1/ QUICK TAKE: Appreciate the thread by @WarintheFuture yesterday that highlighted key points in current and future combat UGV development that we can discern form this video. Would like to add the following points as well. Firsts, what we are witnessing is a rapid... 2/ ...proliferation of smaller, lighter combat and logistics UGVs across the front at this point in the war, with many coming from DIY-type projects by soldiers themselves and different volunteer organizations supporting the war effort. These are less simple designs that can be quickly put together.

1/ QUICK TAKE on a Russian futurist's call for thinking about technologies that come after the "drone/UAV era runs its course." The futurist made this comment to the Russian state media. Is he too early to dismiss technology that is crucial in combat now? On the one hand... 2/...mass-scale UAV, USV/UUV and UGV has just started, and many of these technologies have not been properly tested and applied in combat yet - especially UGVs and UUVs. Ukraine, Russia and other nations have only recently started diverse utilization of these theologies, and...

1/ QUICK TAKE on the Russian deliberations about an "ideal" combat drone: "The US heavy drones were built by aircraft designers who perceived the UAV as an airplane without a pilot inside. The result is a large, expensive and complex aerial vehicle. In contrast..." 2/ "...many Chinese commercial drones were designed by IT specialists - therefore, a Chinese drone is “a smartphone from which the camera was detached and sent to fly, and all the controls are in the same smartphone.” This approach was better than the American one, but also not ideal."

1/4 Russia's Starshe Eddy telegram channel on the importance of drones: "Just a year and a half ago, I would not have thought that FPV drones could solve such problems as isolating the battlefield - and not just at the tactical level, but at the operational level." 2/4 "The supply of ammunition, troop rotation, removal of the wounded from the front line has long become an extremely dangerous quest - previously this only concerned the front line, and therefore there were problems with advancing to great depths."

1/ QUICK TAKE on the importance of a tank in modern conflict from Viktor Murakhovsky, one of Russia's key military experts who is also the chief editor of the "Arsenal Otechestva" military magazine. His main points are translated below. 2/ "A modern tank is beginning to lose its role on the battlefield and must undergo significant modifications to maintain its main functions. The tank must hit the enemy on the battlefield with direct fire, while maintaining its combat effectiveness under the counterbattery of the enemy’s main weapons."

1/ QUICK THREAD on the Russian thoughts about Ukraine's FPV advantage in combat, translated from the TG post. Main points below: "...its definitive that due to NATO’s inability to supply the required number of artillery shells..." t.me/projectArchang… 2/ "...to the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the moment, they (Ukrainian military) decided to overwhelm the front with kamikaze drones. The solution is of course temporary, but very effective. Why? A kamikaze drone costs tens of times less than a shell or a similar projectile."

1/ QUICK TAKE on a review for a book titled "Algorithms of Fire and Steel" about modern technologies' impact on the battlefield. The review was written by General Yuri Baluevsky, former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. armystandard.ru/news/202412911… 2/ The book goes over main weapons, systems, technologies and tactics that Russia used in Ukraine. There are no real surprises here, and nothing that wasn't already said before by Russian commentators and military experts. Baluevsky goes over the following key points:

1/ QUICK TAKE from Ukraine's Serhyi Flash on the constant EW race where Russia seems to have an advantage - translation of his TG post: 1) All FPVs initially flew at frequencies of 850-930 MHz 2) All trench electronic warfare was developed for those frequencies... t.me/serhii_flash/2… 2/ "...up and down on the ELRS protocol so that the “standard” adversary electronic warfare does not work. 4) The Russians are starting to spread this knowledge across all FPV pilot groups 5) We remain silent about this possibility, and do not nor share it en masse with..."

1/ QUICK TAKE on the Russian thoughts abut the role of FPV drones and what is needed (by either side) for a breakthrough) at the front: "The number of drones on the frontline is growing exponentially. Up to a dozen “birds”(FPVs) can now strike one vehicle, and 2-3 drones can chase after a single soldier." 2/ "The "kamikaze" surveillance in the air has already led to a reduction in troops on the front line. Where a platoon used to sit, they now make do with a squad. Both sides strive to minimize movements on the front line. The front now rests on the shoulders of the..."

1/4 Russian specialists from the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions claim to develop an optical guidance systems to turn FPV kamikaze drones into homing air torpedoes: ""An FPV pilot manually pilots a drone to the expected target location over enemy territory...." 2/4 "...As soon as a target is detected, the pilot points the targeting frame at it and gives a lock command. After that, they switch their FPV drone into homing airborne torpedo mode. The drone then attacks the target on its own and destroys it."

1/3 A Ukrainian entrepreneur claims he was able to purchase designs and key documents from Russia's STC that makes Orlan drones - from disgruntled STC employees - starts at 2:50. Russian Telegram bloggers are now lamenting the lack of security at such enterprises. Moreover... 2/2 ... the people who allegedly sold the documents asked to leave Russia with the money they earned from this transaction. The Ukrainian entrepreneur says that at STC, many parts/components are sold to the MOD at massively inflated priories - from X3 and up to X10 times.

1/ QUICK THREAD: Often, pro-Russian Telegram channels will feature a work bench that shows FPV/quadcopter drone assembly "in progress". I asked @DanielR33187703 to help me make sense of one such photo. Main points below. t.me/DroneCenterDNR…
2/ First, its important to figure out what is actually in the photo. This is what @DanielR33187703 came up with based on the photo below.

1/ THREAD on the impact of small quadcopters in the Ukraine war over the past year - based on my earlier analysis of how 2022 went and what I thought would be relevant in 2023. First, my thread from December 31, 2022:

https://twitter.com/sambendett/status/1609230711554277381

2/ 2022 was the year of the DJI quadcopter - this small drone became an inseparable part of war for both sides. In 2023, DJI quadcopter series were still very relevant - but less as a "tip of the spear" and more as an ISR companion to other UAVs.

https://x.com/sambendett/status/1609232123474636801?s=20

1/ SHORT THREAD on the sentiment expressed by the Russian and Ukrainian commentators and volunteers on the role of FPVs and drones in general in this war. First, a Russian military blogger sounded off on his country's experience in reconnaissance-strike complexes and practices. 2/ "Three or four years ago, innovations in modern reconnaissance and strike systems came mainly from the American training grounds in Yuma and White Sands. Practice, however, beats theory quite quickly, and as a result..."

1/ QUICK THREAD on the Russian TVZvezda (MOD-affiliated) report about Project Archangel's volunteer effort and its FPV drone manufacturing and use. This video builds on the one shown a few weeks earlier. Several key points stand out. t.me/projectArchang…
2/ Project Archangel (PA) founder says that the Sudoplatov effort "as part of the MOD is the largest such effort that manufactures and uses FPV drones, given direct MOD involvement." He says that PA has two goals - to work with FPV developers to connect them with military units and...

1/ QUICK THREAD on the Ukrainian claims that the country manufactures 50,000 FPVs per month, while Russia potentially manufactures up to 300K FPVs monthly. The claim comes from this article and quotes Maksym Sheremet, the founder of the DroneSpace company. forbes.ua/innovations/uk… 2/ The 50K Ukrainian number quoted is within the estimates of what the combined Ukrainian FPV effort is - likely tens of thousands but probably less than 50K - and where Ukrainian military's needs to be - hundreds of thousands manufactured monthly.

1/ Russian sources and eyewitnesses are reporting a massive Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk and Bryansk regions. According to the Rybar Telegram channel... web.telegram.org/a/#-1001326223…

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1728683987894501499

2/ "...five UAVs were shot down in the sky over the Moscow region in the Naro-Fominsk, Podolsk, as well as in the Ramensky and Odintsovo urban districts. There is damage to infrastructure, but no injuries reported. In the Kaluga region, targets were intercepted in the Dzerzhinsky and Zhukovsky districts, there were no injuries or damage."

1/ QUICK THREAD on the statements made by Dmitry Peskov (no relation to the Kremlin spokesman), CEO of Russia's National Technological Initiative Platform, on whether "Russia can lead in drone development pace". His statements were published yesterday by the Russian state media.

2/ "Russian specialists test new UAV technologies faster than anyone in the world and the country has all chances to occupy the leading positions on the international market" - Peskov's opening statement confirms a significant defense R&D influenced by the invasion of Ukraine.

1/ QUICK THREAD - as the FPV drone technology continues to evolve on the battlefield, here is a recent Russian invention highlighted in state media: "The Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions has developed a “Metronome” long-range digital comms system for FPV drones." 2/ The “Metronome” allows to significantly increase the drones' use range and protect FPV combat crews, since FPV pilots are often forced to take risks and get as close as possible to actual combat or look for higher ground in order to pilot their drones."