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I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck

(warontherocks.com)
182 points _tk_ | 3 comments | 26 Jun 25 10:11 UTC | HN request time: 0.752s | source
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paganel ◴[26 Jun 25 11:30 UTC] No.44386337[source]▶
> I would, first of all, recommend ensuring that troops in the field have well-trained organic mortar support with an ample supply of ammunition.

That would not be possible because it has become basically impossible to bring in vehicles close to 5-10 kms of the front-lines because of the, well, drones. And you need to carry ammunition to those mortars with something, preferably not how the Vietnamese did it in the jungle (i.e. using brute human force).

Just check this snippet from a recent article in the FT:

> “'At this point, you’re a lucky man if you drive 5km from the front line and your car is still operational,' a Ukrainian drone unit commander deployed in eastern Donetsk region told the Financial Times. He said his men now sometimes had to walk up to 15km at night to reach their positions...

> In the past weeks, Ukrainian supply trucks have reportedly been hit by Russian drones on the road linking Kramatorsk to Dobropillia, some 30km from the fighting. On both sides of the front line, roads are being covered with anti-drone nets in an attempt to stop fibre optic drones."

This comes from Ukrainian guys still fighting this war, not from a Western war-tourist like the guy who wrote this article.

[1] https://x.com/RALee85/status/1937816538439991310

replies(1): >>44386898 #
1. originalvichy ◴[26 Jun 25 12:46 UTC] No.44386898[source]▶
The author writes that he was not there for the fiber optic evolution. They have changed the game when it comes to these flat open terrains with heavy jamming. The quality control and cheap components issues won’t go away unless they are improved, which brings costs to a ”cheap” alternative. As I wrote in my comment above, walking/driving moving targets are still on the table, just not as feasible as in the early days without signals jamming.
replies(1): >>44387503 #
2. paganel ◴[26 Jun 25 13:58 UTC] No.44387503[source]▶
> As I wrote in my comment above, walking/driving moving targets are still on the table

This seems to directly contradict this direct quote from the recent FT article I linked to:

> At this point, you’re a lucky man if you drive 5km from the front line and your car is still operational

replies(1): >>44389005 #
3. originalvichy ◴[26 Jun 25 16:39 UTC] No.44389005[source]▶
I’m not saying it’s impossible to hit them, just that it’s more difficult than in the early days. Even fiber optics have cons like harder maneuverability, but the driveway attacks are probably in the category of ”loitering” drones that sit on the ground waiting for targets before taking flight again.