In Ukraine, while the trench warfare is reminiscent of that of 1914-18, the other essential theatre of conflict is being played out above the front line: dozens of drone units have been formed. The government is also talking about a drone army, they are essential to enable armies to locate and neutralize their adversary. In the eastern region of Donetsk, where fighting is raging, a team of drones from the presidential national brigade Bureviy (“Hurricane”) is carrying out reconnaissance missions, crucial on the front line.
From our special correspondent in the Donetsk region, back from the front line,
Denys is a drone pilot in Ukrainein the Donetsk region, near Lyman, where a drone reconnaissance unit of the Bureviy brigade operates: ” Right now, my job is to locate enemy targets and provide artillery information. Here, two days ago, an enemy tank was destroyed according to the coordinates I found. »
A Russian drone, of the Orlan type, flies over the area, the sky is teeming with enemy drones. Denys makes adjustments to his drone, he too will go spy on the enemy lines, using a fixed-wing drone equipped with a camera that will fly over the surroundings: ” I check that it works and we have to check the sky, we will only fly if I am sure that there are no drones above us. »
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Underground, Andriy is tasked with deciphering the images brought back by the drone: “ The main objective is to find enemy concentrations and their equipment […] : guns, tanks, air defense systems, trenches, shelters, weapons […] Each [mission] produces a completely different result. Sometimes, in a single outing, we will find several large targets, we will transmit [à l’artillerie] and the work begins, [ils détruisent la cible]. “Sometimes the results are more mixed,” Andriy continues: ” There are times when you’re skimming over, you know there must be something, but [les Russes] are so well camouflaged that you simply can’t see through them. »
On the front, it’s about who will be the quickest to flush out the other. Russia to the advantage of numbers and, to counter it, the Ukrainians are multiplying the models of drones used to make them more difficult to detect. Like the unit of drone operators of Bureviy, dozens of others scan the enemy lines in order to inflict as many losses as possible on their aggressor.
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