As a guy sitting in a hotel in Kyiv, working for a drone company featured in this video multiple times… I am seriously impressed with your assessment here. Great video!
Question: How much modifying of the standard commercial drone radio communications is going on by the Russia and Ukrainian forces to use commercial DJI for example? (I assume both side know this about each other so no opsec issues here) I am curious if they just end up using the unmodified commercial frequencies and accept jamming as a possibility. (but since the other side is running them to and the dont want to jam friendlies, and anti-electronic warfare operations are effective it doesn't matter) Or are the modifying them to new fixed frequencies. Or are they going even harder and modifying them to frequency hop or other more advanced methods?
@@link10909 They've moved away from commercial drones, especially DJI, b/c of software limitations - they had to jailbreak the DJI software to get around geo-limitations imposed by DJI. Now they pretty much manufacture their own drones. The following does a great job of addressing drone use in Ukraine. Start at about 5 min mark. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iE18uraHOcs.html
@@ClinttheGreat no they have not moved away from DJI, both sides rely on DJI drones for, Recon, spotting for artillery and FVP strikes, because of the high quality digital camera feed and the flight times 30-45min, FVP drones use analogue cameras (useless vision and transmission) but A dependable video feed and have very short battery lifes 3 min up to 10 min maximum, so you still need a DJI drone to spot targets for the FVP strike drones. You only launch the FVP drone once you have spotted a target with the recon DJI drone.
@@magpieeuc4846 FPV can use DJI air unit o3, or Walksnail. Not smart for "disposable" drones, but it's possible. Also, not every DIY drone must be FPV, the available firmware allows programmable traces, GPS, RTH and some other. Without manufacturer limitations, and calls to Chinese servers. The collision avoidance won't be so good as DJI's I would say.
@@tomasprochazka6198 lol you cant use digital FPV air units ffs they use the 2.4 or 5gig bands, and can be jammed with a ham radio, using that band would also get you tracked and killed quicker than sending the enemy an email with you location. Analog uses the fm bands and you need to rapid cycle though the bands even in flight to not get jammed.
We tested dropping munitions with that same DJI drone in one of our videos and also tested thermal camera capability for recon, overall, it is very doable with practice but the battery life is by far the biggest limit. Also the thermal camera is a huge asset **BUT, it is very limited. Good vid trex !
@@cornfedchris58 That is not necessarily true... battery chemistry and cell efficiency breakthroughs are kind of a cornered market. The drone market itself is NOWHERE near big enough to facilitate battery breakthroughs like the automotive industry is. Most drones on the market are already using pretty up to date chemistry and cell construction pioneered or perfected BY/FOR the automotive industry. I don't see any unexpectedly large energy density breakthroughs on the horizon. The biggest shortcoming in this space is SIZE. At current (and even near term future) energy densities, flight duration will continue to remain a problem. I expect many of these armed FPV drones in the future to be intentionally engineered larger than the currently utilized "off-the-shelf" drones specifically to accommodate larger batteries alongside the weight of the munition.
It is alluded to in the video, but investing in DJI or other Chinese drones is not realistic for practical applications-our biggest threats are either from our own nation, or from China, and they both already have backdoor tools to easily disable/track their product.
We operate UAVs equipped with thermal cameras made by FLIR. They have a 45 min flight time with less than a minute down time to battery swap. Using a 5 battery kit and charging station we can run one in 24hr cycles. The ability to implement an asset like that in under a minute out of a backpack is absolutely incredible. 🔺
You can do it with HAM or GMRS radio! If you can get or make a little repeater. Especially for use in forests and small hills, you can make a flying radio tower basically. Even in the coastal plains of Georgia, the small hills and forests make 5 watt HT radios unusable past a mile. But if you can get LOS with a tall repeater, you can talk for crazy distances
Was a case in Oregon last year, guy was in spotty mobile phone coverage. Attached his phone to a drone, and sent it up to get an emergency call out. If google "Man uses drone to get help while stranded in snow" you'll get the articles.
There's drone usage in, I believe it was Africa or the middle east, that used airplane drones launched with a catapult/sling shot and caught with a net. It's purpose was to del8ver medical and other urgent supplies to remote areas. They were simplistic and broke down to around 3 or so pieces. If interested I could likely find the video again and share it.
The catapult / net captureethod has been pretty common for uavs since their inception, truck bed and ground mounts have been in every theatre since the 90's. Pretty normal
Yeh the Russians are producing 10's of thousands a month. So much NATO armor was destroyed by FPV drones the Ukrainians then stopped using armor and sent in infantry. They were also being destroyed by FPV. Russian's now putting thermals on their expendable FPV's. In modern warfare its best to become a tunnel rat.
yeah, much cheaper than the switchblades the united states send. Not only anti-personnel, but also anti armor, the ukrainians strap a rpg warhead to a fpv racing drone and start looking for russian armor.
@@sugandesenuds6663 Russians use them on infantry now that Ukr stopped using armor. Its deadly to be above ground, best to become a tunnel rate like ww1.
Not even so much anti-personnel but rather like ATGMs! When they strap an RPG warhead to it and hit tanks in the back or top of the turret it usually detonates the ammo. A hit to the back of the hull or the engine deck usually mobility kills them. And I've seen no shortage of them chasing down Scooby-Doo vans, trucks, BMPs, and even motorcycles. The anti-vehicle aspect is where FPVs really shine!
The Malloy t150 and the Marine's recent adoption of it for their Littoral Logistics units for resupply drops is something you guys should look at- 150lb payload and they have a 400 lb capable version as well.
This is the content I didnt know I needed. I love the implications these concepts have for responsible civilian use. Here’s another one: using them for natural disasters to locate people or dangerous structural areas.
Yes! This is going to be a great series Also, I did not expect to see something for farming on this channel. I love the depth and degree of knowledge. Super interesting.
I have a Mavic2 Pro that is now 4 1/2 years old. I keep it only as a backup to my newer Sub 250gram Mini 3 Pro, and rarely fly it much anymore. I did get it out the other day and put a full charge on all the batteries and go fly some aerial photog sorties, putting a fresh flight battery on each sorrie. on the 3rd one, the hand controller went from 75% battery down to critical state and then shutoff the controller all in about 15 seconds when the Mavic2 was quite some distance away. I freaked, because I'd never done a real, uncontrolled RTH on any of my DJI drones, (only close by RTH to see if it really worked) especially not on one almost 2 km away at altitude. Well the little guy showed up about 10 minutes later and landed back right where it took off and my controller had been to dead to even get enough charge to turn back on. When I lost the link the Mavic2 had 49% battery, and it landed with still 25% battery, so it made it easily. I had always worried about the flight battery, and never worried about the controller battery, but now with this older controller I need to see about a new internal Li-on battery for it. DJI's RTH is awesome. I like this Mavic drone BTW because its Pre-RID (remote ID) in firmware. Still does incredible video and photos with its Hassleblad camera setup.
cool story. you can make your own quads without DJI's spying firmware. BTW joelobryan, have you become a flat earther yet? If not I suggest viewing the 13 part series _what on earth happened_ in my about to learn how the earth is not a globe
I keep all my drones WiFi's turned off and never connect them to the internet after they are activated at first turn-on. I don't allow DJI to continually update software after purchase. The GEO maps and No Fly Zones don't get updated either. I know the Earth is not a globe but on oblate spheroid.@@flat-earther
A British volunteer in Ukraine has confirmed that the FPV pilot is now far more valuable then the sniper. They have a guy in their unit who has a multiple of the confirmed kills of the most celebrated snipers in history.
For the average person, I feel that small commercial drones can be used for a number of things including surveillance, forward observement (Think a couple miles away) checking the interstate for riots or enemy positions. That's just touching the surface. I have been flying commercially since 2017, too many uses for this comment space.
I have actually done what he said about the 100 ft of power and comms wire, strapped the OE-254 cone to a drone and flew it up instead of setting up the antenna poles
I think it's easy to underestimate the value drones have in absorbing casualties. Your long range surveillance drones start dropping off the net that gives you pre-warning of the attack. Your one way recon waves probing easiest routes of advance and triggering ambushes. Those goofy grenade drop drones... The operator gets a lot of free tries to get it right with limited risk to themselves. The battlespace is definitely changing. When you think about the possibilities when combined with AI and less scrupulous rules of engagement it's pretty scary stuff.
Goofy grenade drop drones? Those "goofy drones" are responsible for tens of thousands of dead in Ukraine. We need to start calling them what they are - serious threats that can cause a lot of problems a lot of different ways very quickly. Honestly, no one is prepared for a future conflict. The US is trying it's hardest to get their Anti-Drone capabilities up but that still takes time.
hi korruptor, have you become a flat earther yet? If not I suggest viewing the 13 part series _what on earth happened_ in my about to learn how the earth is not a globe
Awesome. These tech videos are always so cool. I’m sure a ton of time goes into research on this stuff to bring us something so condensed and digestible. Great job! 👍🏻
Drone usage is pretty cool. On O’ahu, lots of guys are using them to cast their lines farther out and catch big fish. They can be great for getting a view of trails and figure out which way to go. And they can be used to spot things easily without risking yourself. It’s easy to send up a drone to go take a peek. Worst case scenario you lose a lil money and not your life.
Ah, the old eb and flow of technological warfare. The problem I see with drone is the reliance on them when the time comes. Where technology becomes a hinderance instead of an asset. Ill give you a current example that is currently affecting the military today. But to start we have to go back some years. In the beginning, we transported people in cargo trucks with a cloth covering. That didnt stop bullets, so we armored them, made armored personel carriers. So then they made weapons better, then armor better, then weapons better... etc. Fast forward to today and we have humvees that cost about .5 million each, with all the cool gear and stuff. Not to mention the 4 or 5 people and their gear. All can be taken out with a few 200 dollar RPG's. So the military is giving serious consideration to the idea of removing armor to make their vehicles more mobile and harder to hit. Now we are back to transporting people in unarmored vehicles. An old military officer got into a war came with modern officers. They had all of the tech they could ask for, radar jammers, comms intercepting, the whole package. And they lost because they couldnt figure out how he was communicating with his team. The answer was he was hand writing letters and giving them to guys on motorcycles, they just couldnt see it. Having MRE's are great. But knowing which bugs and plants you can eat is probably better. Youll eventually run out of MRE's, you cant run out of knowledge. I look at drones the same way. They are great and cool until the technology fails. Then you lose to the guy who has been practicing the old ways.
This is a very good presentation. I have been following ALL of the Ukrainian drone videos ( since they are the underdog and are very smart people. Their war is still lost.). This is a real quality presentation!✅
hi abdallah-, have you become a flat earther yet? If not I suggest viewing the 13 part series _what on earth happened_ in my about to learn how the earth is not a globe
Kudos on making a contrasting yet complementary approach to Garand Thumb on the drone frontier. While he addresses irl experience and tactics, you guys address history, technology, and theory/strategy. Bravo! 👏
I've heard of commercial electricians using drones to hunt down wiring because they don't want to crawl through the small areas. Pretty neat idea I'd say
@luislongoria6621 cool story bro. This is what I heard. Maybe you do shit work and can't use a drone but the electrician who told me he does actually showed me his and how he does it.
Pretty suspicious raising of the eyebrow there at the end. Something big coming? Once again, you demonstrated why you're one of my favorite RU-vid channels. Great job on this. Looking forward to the rest.
I really appreciate the comments connected to the Ukraine conflict not getting into the politics of it. Sticking to the subject of drones was a classy way to do a show about drones. Other channels on YT could learn from you.
TACP here. In answer to the question about "what it was like to have your air assets dynamically retasked". I did that under combat conditions in Afghanistan and was on both the sending and recieving end. That task happens faster than you can sing the Star Spangled Banner. I believe that addresses the core of your assertion. Tactics evolved to reduce response time effectively burning jet fuel to get bombs on target faster. I cannot speak to drone assets and their capabilities for comparison but hope the old school perspective lends some clarity to the discussion.
Autel Evo Max is the drone to get as far as I know. Thing is bad ass and has thermal and an amazing night vision camera and range finder. I've also seen it used in Ukraine to drop grenades.
Not sure ATAK's UAS Tool plugin has support for it though yet. From tak.gov "Drones Not Supported: Autel EVO Max 4T - Drone is integrated on a special branch of UAS Tool (unreleased). Working integration to load all Autel SDK versions for most models (in-progress). Autel SDK does not support Nano or EVO Lite models. DJI Mavic 3 Classic, Hasselblad, Non-Enterprise/Thermal "
Awesome video! Keep up the good work and sharing the latest in battlefield technologies and threats. Things have changed rapidly since the GWOT. Just an FYI, The U.S. made Flex Force Dronebuster is designed to counter small UAS drones and drone swarms. It can detect drones from several kilometers away and take control of the drone's command and control, which cuts the video feed. The new version can even force the drone to descend to the ground, or completely take control of the drone. All of this in a small and light (5 lb) package, which is available on GSA.
As preppers i consider a drone a necessity. Not for combat but for recon. We currently have a few of the smaller DJIs but we're researching a package from a private contractor consisting of a series of drones that get programmed for patrol routes, self docking and charging etc. It's super expensive, around 15K to start with 1 drone, but it does not have all the FCC crap built in to limit it. Legally right now we can't use it off our property, but that's not the purpose of it. Providing LRP with early warning system is paramount to us. I am hoping some of the biger ones come way down in price so we can get one large enough to provide remote trade and resupply maybe. But ones with that capability today are like 20K from what I have found so far. Were all pretty scared right now as we are pretty ignorant on drones and the tech. I often wonder if we are putting the cart before the horse.
IMO it's pointless getting any of this stuff for what you want if you can't operate/maintain. 15k worth of automated drone from whatever company is quoting that is worthless when it breaks and there's nobody to call for tech support. You'll want stuff that's not proprietary and/or closed source if you're prepping for an event where you'll be on you're own. Now if you just want something to play around with that isn't for some sort of "preppers" reason then grab a Mavic and go for it. Real easy to fly and you can play around with plotting routes and all that. As long as we still have GPS for all that software to work with that is;)
@@jasonc9464plus something none of them want to talk about is DJI is a Chinese company. They have American companies or at least 9 Chinese companies making drones but for some reason they just can't break into the market. I suspect a lot of it is not the quality because I've looked into them and they are really good but because they don't have a low price points. What happens is you only really here in the mainstream about drones that are cheaper so then over time you might evolve to buy the more expensive version of that brand. So you might be able to buy a $500 drone and an upgrade to a 2000 drone of that same brand now that you are a loyal customer. Put the drone that only has a $2000 version you will never hear about. Either way the point is there is a way to heavy reliance on Chinese products when they are our number 1 enemy. Of course this was the exact goal of China and even companies who you think are really good and patriotic still just can't seem to escape from its grasp. I really don't know the solution though because one of the benefits of Communism is you can undercut markets by having everything subsidized centralized and controlled by the government and even if it might be artificial it works for a while. It's the same way that companies will lower their prices a lot to kill off the competition and even though it hurts them they hope that they will make it through and then come out on top when they are the only ones left China has actually use the strategy at times also. In closing I get wanting to use technology and it's fine to use it but remember not only will it become hard to repair once broken it requires electricity which is going to be in short supply if you have an apocalypse. It will be much easier to buy gasoline in the black market then keep up with large solar arrays needed to have the energy for every one of your electronic devices. And yes you can use gasoline to convert to electricity but at this point you might as well be using more guerrilla warfare rather than stuff that's going to get you spotted. if it comes down to the individual person fighting instead of an army your drones are going to be more of a liability, most likely
FYI just yesterday a video emerged of an anti-air quadcopter using a shotgun as armament. I was waiting for this to appear. Today is the start of the air-to-air technology race. We are going to see a miniaturized Battle of Britain in Ukraine in the coming year. Great video. Looking forward to the coming iterations. Can't believe honestly so few others are following this topic so specifically. Certainly a gap in the YT market.
You can gather timely Battlefield information absolutely and at the small unit Infantry level. That means calling in an air strike or artillery strike with a single shot that hits right on target every time which if effected has a devastating psychological effect on any of us but in particular a militarized enemy such as Putin Russia as this is not something one "trains" against. The biggest challenge comes from logistics as some of these items have remarkable loitering abilities and so can "wait"(look for the best time) to strike. By the book these are an ambush weapon more akin to bows and arrows than kinetic strike such as from a rifle, pistol, artillery piece or machine gun. Also as a weapon system very easy to make into become weapons grade with hardened electronics and secure signaling and laptop computers that are ruggedized for field work. More than this not just air but ground and sea based now with a stunning picture of a US Navy "manta" drone released which is not some "small thing" if true.
Both, Wii controller and miniaturized drone flight controllers are based on MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes. The technology dates back to the 1980ies.
Marine Corps just eliminated STA at the BN level. I fully believe this is due to the incorporation of drones at the tactical level for the reasons you mentioned.
