This drone drone video shows what war looks like now.
Piloting a drone may seem like a video game, but these soldiers are in real danger.
We joined the Ukrainian drone team on the frontlines to understand this work and how low-cost drones are changing combat as we know it.
Drone operators fight their battles from the air, but rarely see the sky.
The Ukrainians in this small unit spent most of their time indoors in a partially destroyed building in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. Units like theirs are located on both sides of the front line, meaning soldiers can barely advance without being seen.
The commander, pilot, navigator and explosives engineer of this unit were born in or near Kherson. Now they are defending him.
PREPARATION
Between vacations, a technician prepares explosives.
Soldiers assemble and test the drones so they are ready when the order comes.
The cheap drones used in Ukraine are redefining combat as we know it. The soldiers there can barely advance without being targeted.
This drone team, part of the 34th Marine Brigade, operates in two rooms. One is packed with wires, antennas, zip ties, duct tape, and soldering irons for modifying drones. Another holds explosives. A wood stove provides comfort in cold weather.
They make different explosives for different targets: pellet-filled charges for use against soldiers, and mixtures of TNT and mine explosives for bunkers.
As the soldiers prepare ammunition, a surveillance drone operated by a separate unit scouts targets across the Dnieper River in Russian-held territory.
Soldiers waiting for orders smoke and chat to pass the time.
46-year-old sergeant Serhiy once fought as part of the infantry, but was injured when his car fell into a mine. After that, he taught himself how to fly drones. He and the other soldiers asked to remain anonymous, per military protocol.
Part of his job is to watch for enemy drones. The team uses a device that intercepts video signals broadcast by Russian drones coming in from across the river. If Ukrainians see their position on the screen, they know they are in great danger.
The detector comes to life. Sergeant Serhiy says about the Russian drone: “It flies close to us.
But then the signal flashes – blocked by Ukrainian traffic jams – and an explosion is heard in the distance as the drone crashes.
They are safe.
CALL
The command center orders the team into action with a secure phone call. A Ukrainian drone has detected an object that looks like a Russian bunker.
The navigator receives a description of the target.
The team is moving fast. An explosives technician attaches a plastic bottle containing explosives, ideal for destroying a deep bunker, to a drone.
The battery and other parts are installed later. The drone is ready to go.
Drones are made from commercial models. Reliance on cheap materials arose out of necessity early in the war, when Ukraine was running out of artillery shells.
The Ukrainian army is the first major force in the world to create a separate branch for unmanned systems. But unmanned is a bit of a misnomer. Tens of thousands of soldiers serve in drones, even though the Ukrainian army is severely understaffed.
The Russian bunker is positioned on the front line with Russian and Ukrainian soldiers only a few hundred yards apart.
Tension builds in the room as the drone is being tested. Its propellers spin briefly, confirming that it is ready to fly. It might look flyable, but it’s deadly.
Private Oleksandr ties a rope between the safety mechanism on the drone and the wooden box from which it will take off. When it flies, the wire will disengage from the mechanism and the device will arm.
Sergeant Serhiy and navigator Corporal Oleh are sitting in camp chairs in front of three large computer monitors.
Then comes the riskiest part of the operation. The drone needs to be taken outside.
Private Oleksandr only needs to leave the safety of his hideout for a few seconds to prepare the drone for flight.
The only defense against Russian surveillance drone detection is speed.
Only 10 minutes passed between the order and the release.
The drone cannot be recovered after flight. If the target is not found, Sergeant Serhiy will shoot it in open space.
FLIGHT
Due to GPS jamming, the drone team must rely on landmarks such as trees and bends in the river to navigate.
Although the craft used for this mission is called a first-person drone, it takes two people to fly it.
The pilot uses a remote control console while watching the video feed from the drone’s camera. The navigator watches videos from both the FPV drone and the surveillance drone while receiving instructions from the command center.
Some pilots use virtual reality goggles, which provide a more immersive view. But since they were using desktop monitors, Corporal Oleh could guide Sergeant Serhiy by displaying geographic features on the screens.
It is several miles to the target bunker along the Dnieper River wetlands.
Radio jamming interferes with the signal, but the unit maintains contact. A few minutes after the flight, sergeant Serhiy carefully takes the drone to the ditch.
The holiday is successful. A surveillance drone captures the explosion.
NEXT
No applause after the holiday.
Some pilots are shocked by what they see. They witness the last moments of soldiers running for their lives or hiding in the bushes.
Sergeant Serhiy says that he is not worried. “They attacked my house,” he said of the Russians.
Russian and Ukrainian drone teams sometimes taunt or insult each other by adding text to unencrypted images transmitted by their drones. Each party knows that the other can see the messages.
Sergeant Serhiy says: “This is the only way we communicate.”
For every successful pilot, there are usually 10 failed drone strikes. Sometimes drones lose their signal due to radio jamming. Sometimes they are shot by Russian soldiers.
We observed the unit engage four targets that day. All four were successful. It was a day of precision and efficiency.
