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

(warontherocks.com)
183 points _tk_ | 4 comments | 26 Jun 25 10:11 UTC | HN request time: 0.014s | source
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msgodel ◴[26 Jun 25 11:15 UTC] No.44386225[source]▶
Soon they'll be using CV and won't need FPV.
replies(2): >>44386355 #>>44386533 #
palata ◴[26 Jun 25 11:32 UTC] No.44386355[source]▶
You still want someone to get the drone to a place where it can see the target, and someone to select this target.

Only then can CV do the last part ("terminal engagement"). But that also means it won't go inside a hangar and find the target there.

replies(1): >>44388101 #
bluGill ◴[26 Jun 25 14:58 UTC] No.44388101[source]▶
IF you tell it go into the hanger and find a target CV can do that. It might not be the best target in the hanger, but that doesn't matter too much if you can get in.
replies(1): >>44388352 #
palata ◴[26 Jun 25 15:27 UTC] No.44388352[source]▶
If you add enough "if's", then surely everything is possible :-).

I don't think we're anywhere near having drones that happily fly above a war zone, detect an interesting hangar, find a way to get inside and select a target inside.

Currently they mostly fly FPV drones manually. The next basic step is to have "terminal engagement", where at some point they can select a target and the drone will fly autonomously to it using CV. But in order to do that, the drone will need processing power, and therefore it won't cost 500$ anymore.

Would you rather go for a drone that costs 5k and can use CV for terminal engagement, or 10 drones that cost 500 and simply stay on their latest vector if no command arrives?

replies(4): >>44388437 #>>44389029 #>>44391717 #>>44395144 #
1. 05 ◴[26 Jun 25 21:37 UTC] No.44391717{4}[source]▶
Terminal guidance boards are already available on Aliexpress for $300-ish. Using YOLOv7 no less. The future is now.
replies(2): >>44392359 #>>44392487 #
2. msgodel ◴[26 Jun 25 23:12 UTC] No.44392359[source]▶
Yeah I think people overestimate how big yolo models are and how much compute costs.
replies(1): >>44392497 #
3. palata ◴[26 Jun 25 23:33 UTC] No.44392487[source]▶
Are you telling me that you can search for "terminal guidance" on AliExpress and find such boards?
4. palata ◴[26 Jun 25 23:36 UTC] No.44392497[source]▶
The drone is 500$. If the board is 300$, it makes it a lot more expensive. What's the value of that board? How much does it help? Remember that you need to fly it with FPV to the place where the operator can select the target. So you have a radio link at some point, that can be jammed.