Russian DefMin Belousov at the latest Miliary Commission meeting: "Starting this September, three military academies will begin training military personnel in 11 new specialties, including in the use of UAVs and robotic systems." t.me/tass_agency/33… "We have significantly increased the volume of deliveries of tactical UAVs to the troops. This has certainly had a positive impact on the course of military operations. It is necessary to complete the work on creating an effective system for providing UAV troops with logistics and repairs."

1/ Russian MOD officially engaging with volunteer community: First, Kalashnikov Enterprise struck a deal with Ushkuynik, a parent company of the "KVN" fiber-optic drone. Now, it has an agreement with "Project Archangel", one of the largest efforts in the country. t.me/projectArchang… 2/ "The joint project should become a driver for the development of advanced technologies and the training of professional personnel to counter enemy drones. Project Archangel is required to do the following: open a training center in Zaporizhie region..."

1/ From Russia's Rybar, one of the top pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, on the possibility of delivering Geran drones to Venezuela as a deterrent against US: "How will the situation change if Russian Geran UAVs are delivered to Venezuela?" t.me/rybar/73048 2/ "Let's imagine that, say, 2,000 Gerans are delivered to the Bolivarian Republic. Then the Venezuelans will be able to reach American bases in the Caribbean region, and under certain conditions, even facilities on the US mainland. What can the Gerans hit when launched from Caracas?"

1/ QUICK TAKE: For a long time, many Rus commentators and bloggers decried the lack of enough SIGNIT (radio electronic reconnaissance, or RER in Rus) at the front to identify and go after Ukr drones. In a translated post from a Ukr commentator Serg Marco, Rus bloggers note the following. t.me/RVvoenkor/97984
2/ Serg Marco explained some of the reasons for the Ukrainian military's difficult situation in the Pokrovsky direction. According to Marco, the problems began at the end of spring 2025, when the greenery bloomed, and the Russian army had the opportunity to actively use...

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Rus mil commentator on the importance of going after Ukrainian small tactical radars: "Why is it important to knock them out first? Many have wondered why there are fewer videos of strikes on airfields and air defense systems in the enemy rear?" t.me/rybar/72883 2/ "The answer is simple - since last year, the Ukrainian forces have been actively shooting down our recon fixed-wing drones with their interceptor UAVs, and it is no longer possible to fly there freely."

1/ THREAD: Rus TG channels on flying and operating drones in bad weather - when there is rain, snow, fog, wind and frost: "Key battlefield scenarios for using UAVs are collecting information and physical destruction of targets. For both, we depend on the viewing range..." t.me/Notes_of_the_J…


2/ "...for which the camera is responsible. Also, recon drones and FPVs have electronics that require moisture protection and power elements, the energy of which is spent not only on movement, but also on stabilizing the drone in flight. We will therefore consider..."

1/ Russia's Rubicon Center, where most experienced drone operators are using radio-controlled and fiber-optic UAVs with devastating success, is officially a year old. A few observations from TG: "Rubicon's main achievement is not a quantitative or technical improvement, but an organizational one." t.me/VictoryDrones/… 2/ "Previously, a Russian UAV operator was simultaneously an operator, an engineer, a sapper, and a reconnaissance officer (while being some kind of grenade launcher according to the documents), but in Rubicon all these functions are separated."

1/ THREAD: What do Russia-based military experts think of the impact of drone warfare in Ukraine? In an analysis translated below, Director of Moscow-based CAST (Center for Analysis of Strategies and Tech) sounds off on the key battlefield changes. rg.ru/2025/07/09/dro… 2/ "It is obvious that as the element base becomes miniaturized and cheaper, combat operations will increasingly take the form of actions by incredible hordes of drones of the most diverse types, shapes, sizes and purposes (but mostly smaller and cheaper)..."

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Russ mil blogger on how to avoid and protect from "zhduns", ambush drones that wait by the road to quickly pounce on target with minimal warning: "Protection from such a drone should begin before leaving (your position)..." t.me/russian_fpv/867 2/ "...in this sense, additional reconnaissance of the route becomes critical: we recommend analyzing the route using available UAVs, paying special attention to potential ambush sites - roadsides, bushes with good visibility, roofs, power lines..."

1/5 QUICK TAKE from Rus mil bloggers on the importance of FPVs in combat: "In recent years, it has become clear: the front has changed. FPV drones have proven themselves to be at their best, literally and figuratively. They are cheap, accessible, adaptable. They..." t.me/MariaBerlinska… 2/5 "They fly where traditional means are powerless. They fight 24/7, without sleep, fear or fatigue. Behind every operator is the art of control, behind every drone is astonishing efficiency. More and more resources - personnel, technology, financial - are now concentrated here."

1/ QUICK TAKE by Rus mil bloggers on the technical aspects of today's Ukrainian drone strike: "FPV control was carried out via mobile networks (4G, LTE and the like). The bandwidth of modern mobile networks is more than enough to perform such tasks." t.me/ZarodinuVmeste… x.com/United24media/… 2/ "There were no ground control stations and, especially, no saboteur operators nearby. The truck driver in particular and the logistics chain in general are another story that our special services will have to figure out."

1/ QUICK TAKE by Rus commentators on the consequences of today's strike: "Reinforcement of air defense will be necessary - not only from fixed-wing (Ukr) drones, but also from FPV drones, specially since there has already been an experience of such an attack in Machulishchi, where (our) A-50 was damaged. Obviously, the security at the airfield was not prepared for this type of attack." t.me/boris_rozhin/1… 2/ "Strengthening counter-intelligence and counter-terrorist measures. The enemy was able to prepare and carry out a complex operation on our territory. This is a clear failure of the special services that allowed this to happen."

1/ QUICK THREAD on the key military tech seen during Russia's May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow. Since 2022, such parades have been getting smaller in scale as more and more mil tech was used in the ongoing Ukraine invasion. Was this year different? 2/ The parade was opened by a T-34 WW2 tank, just like last year. This year, multiple T-34s went through the Red Square, compared to a single tank in 2024.

1/5 What will the future tank look like? Russa's Uralvagonzavod, the main manufacturer of Rus tanks, offered the following ideas: The prospective tanks will receive echeloned protection and more powerful guns, will receive standard radars and UAVs... ria.ru/20250328/tank-… 2/5 ...will be designed according to the modular principle and have an optional crew. "To date, (we) have already developed a significant portion of these technologies, and are working on the implementation of this scientific and technical potential."

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Russian volunteer on what happens to the "People's VPK" - a vast ecosystem of Rus volunteer and start up efforts that manufacture and supply Russian forces with drones, CUAS and other equipment. Translation of main points below: t.me/rogozin_alexey…

2/ "If we imagine a scenario in which the SVO (war) is suspended, the first to feel the consequences will not be the quasi-state defense enterprises, but the so-called people's military-industrial complex: those same hundreds of private companies and teams of enthusiasts who..."

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Russian mil blogger on retaking the Kursk region and Sudzha, and the role of UAVs and drones in "isolating the battlefield". The TG post is obviously subjective, so usual caveats apply - translation in this short thread below. t.me/rusengineer/67… 2/ "Our troops began moving towards the village of Novenkoye. And then video footage appeared from the Sumy-Sudzha highway, with a bunch of burnt (Ukr) equipment. Then the information field exploded with Operation Truba... The heroic actions of our soldiers made it possible to significantly influence the resilience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces."

1/ THREAD on recent Russian assault tactics - assault teams now bring FPVs with them to launch at the shortest distance possible at targets: "To achieve an effect similar to suppression by artillery fire (almost continuous explosions on the defending enemy's position)..." t.me/unfair_advanta…
2/ "...preventing them from emerging from cover to fire at the attackers), the following method that has become standard for many is used: Assault infantry, moving to the initial position to carry out an attack, lays out on the ground (roofs of buildings, roads) their FPV drones and turns them on."

1/ THREAD: A Russian mil blogger on tracking fiber-optic cable back to drone operators to take our UAV crews: "The Ukr tracks our UAV crew operating on fiber-optics by the light and reflection of the fiber optic cable. There is a video and it's not clear if they hit the crew." t.me/filatovcorr/46…

2/ "In any case, an analog FPV kamikaze is flying (at their position), which means there must be video interception systems. At least to warn of danger. In their videos, the Ukrainian Forces admit that the Russians have few video interception systems."

1/ QUICK TAKE from a Russian mil blogger on the importance of domestic microelectronics and "military IT" that Russian generals still don't get: "It is important to understand that technical progress today is driven..." t.me/filatovcorr/46… 2/ "...not only by the military mega-corporations, but also by the small civilian sector... Or rather, the rapidly growing microelectronics sector. Civilian electronics can carry so much computing power with relatively low energy consumption, that if you..."

1/ QUICK THREAD - an account of the Ukrainian UGV-UAV combined assault on Russian positions in December 2024: "The mission itself involved complex logistics and communications requirements. No drone swarm technology was used..." counteroffensive.news/p/the-first-ev… 2/ "...which meant that each individual drone was piloted by an individual pilot. Less than 100 soldiers were involved in the operation, including pilots, logisticians, planners and support staff – all to launch an assault of around 30 drones."

1/ QUICK TAKE from a Russian military blogger on counter-UAV issues/problems: "The general principles of armed struggle have not really changed much - in this case the functionality of classical manned frontline aviation has largely "migrated" to small unmanned aircraft systems.

2/ "The organization of a systemic struggle for dominance in the "lower skies" in our current circumstances obviously stumbles not only on the significant shortage of normal material resources and trained human resources (although, of course, this factor plays a huge role)."