[flagged]
Why are his brothers invading his country?
I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
31–40 of 355 posts
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#32> 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.
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#33[flagged]
Well, Slovaks don’t believe they’re Russian.
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#34I've seen some of these FPV videos of kills of unarmed Russian soldiers. I honestly don't know why the pilots are not prosecuted for war crimes. (and I'm sure Russia does the same to Ukraine, I just haven't seen those videos).
It's because killing unarmed soldiers during war is not a war crime.
Rule 3. All members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict are combatants, except medical and religious personnel.
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule3
Rule 47. Attacking persons who are recognized as hors de combat is prohibited. A person hors de combat is: (a) anyone who is in the power of an adverse party; (b) anyone who is defenceless because of unconsciousness, shipwreck, wounds or sickness; or (c) anyone who clearly expresses an intention to surrender; provided he or she abstains from any hostile act and does not attempt to escape
https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule47
A surprise drone attack on any Russian combatant that isn't a medic or chaplain is "lawful", even if they aren't holding a weapon at the time.
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, he writes that after he left the battlefield they became more common. There was a video of a soldier wading through massive amounts of fiber near the front line. Just imagine that for each drone attack there will be 10-50km of fiber dropped on the landscape. It will not rot and stay there until someone cleans it up.
I've always wondered if the burning batteries and electronics in the drones have any significant environmental impact when compared to conventional weapons.
I'd rather have old fibre cables and lithium batteries than old unexploded ordinance
(If wishes were horses I'd rather Russia hadn't invaded a sovereign country in the first place, but we are where we are)
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#36The article talks about signal jammers, but as far as I know most drones there are remote controlled using fiber for exactly that reason?
> Today, some Ukrainian and Russian units are also using drones controlled by fiber-optic cable, rather than radio, though I had no personal experience with this type of drone in my unit
Because it is mostly the Russians that are using those, the Ukrainians have also started using them but in less fewer numbers.
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#37Don't drones have another advantage not mentioned here -- counter-battery against operators being more challenging?
More challenging than what?
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, he writes that after he left the battlefield they became more common. There was a video of a soldier wading through massive amounts of fiber near the front line. Just imagine that for each drone attack there will be 10-50km of fiber dropped on the landscape. It will not rot and stay there until someone cleans it up.
I've always wondered if the burning batteries and electronics in the drones have any significant environmental impact when compared to conventional weapons.
[deleted]
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are... I think they aren't unproblematic - the fibre can get caught on things etc. Also I read of instances where the opposition can follow the fibre back to find the drone operators.
Sounds like for fiber optic strikes you gotta do a "shoot and scoot".
The operators usually use a cordless drill to wind back as much cable as they can after the drone is used.
Re: I fought in Ukraine and here's why FPV drones kind of suck
#40I've seen some of these FPV videos of kills of unarmed Russian soldiers. I honestly don't know why the pilots are not prosecuted for war crimes. (and I'm sure Russia does the same to Ukraine, I just haven't seen those videos).
So if artillery is fired at an enemy position, and they’re unarmed, is that a war crime?
Catching an enemy soldier unarmed doesn’t mean you’re a war criminal, it means they made a big mistake.
This is war, not a gentleman’s duel.