The `cat and mouse` battle with UAVs on the Russia-Ukraine front line 0
(Dan Tri) – Russia and Ukraine continuously deploy UAVs, as well as measures to intercept each other’s drones on the front lines, creating a tense `cat and mouse` battle.
Ukrainian soldiers operate UAVs on the front lines (Photo: Reuters).
As a Ukrainian rocket flew toward the Russian radar system, the soldiers in Kiev’s UAV unit waited with bated breath.
`There’s still about a minute left,` said Soliara, 46, the drone operator, before silence fell on their drone, which was packed with screens and cables, hidden behind
Mr. Soliara’s unit belongs to the 15th independent artillery reconnaissance brigade. They are tasked with operating the `Shark`, a Ukrainian-made drone with advanced technology including cameras that can sometimes read text.
Shark is a weapon in the domestic drone program that Ukraine has been developing since Russia launched its military campaign in the neighboring country.
During the attack in Kharkov, Shark discovered that the target was a Russian radar system for a Ukrainian artillery unit.
After the soldiers reconnected with Shark, they saw a hole filled with smoke 50 meters away from the Russian radar system.
According to Reuters, the above attack and prevention is part of the complex `cat and mouse` battle that Russia and Ukraine are waging along the front line more than 1,000km long.
Both sides will continuously launch new UAVs to the front line, implement new attack tactics, and the other side will research how to deal with, intercept, and create a position to chase each other.
Russia has a massive fleet of UAVs of its own, as well as sophisticated EW systems that can disrupt the signals of remotely controlled drones and send guided munitions off course.
`They add EW systems that operate on other frequencies, they learn how to hide precisely, they move air defense complexes to new locations,` Mr. Soliara said.
Close-up of a Ukrainian Shark UAV (Photo: Reuters).
However, according to Ukrainian soldiers, Shark had previously been a powerful assistant helping Kiev destroy many valuable Russian targets such as air defense complexes and radar systems.
`About a month after I joined the force, we found an air defense system, attacked it,` said Kenobi, a Ukrainian soldier.
Ukraine uses a range of drones from domestic manufacturers as well as Western suppliers, to locate Russian targets and attack them directly.
Military personnel say Ukrainian-made drones are often easier to repair if damaged because they can be quickly sent back to the manufacturer.
Commander of Ukraine’s 15th brigade, Oleksandr Popov, said drones are playing an important role on the battlefield.
`We calculated that one flight of the Shark UAV would be worth the value of that weapon, because it could destroy high-tech weapons systems worth millions of dollars,` he said, according to Shark
Shark aerial reconnaissance is very valuable on the battlefield, where artillery is playing an overwhelmingly important role as each side fires thousands of shells every day.
`Artillery is the king of the battlefield and artillery reconnaissance is the eyes of the king of the battlefield,` compared soldier Soliara.
On the other hand, The Economist said, Russia is also stepping up its efforts to hunt down enemy soldiers operating UAVs to cause hard-to-compensate damage to Ukraine.
Although soldiers operating UAVs often fight far from the front lines, if they are not careful to hide, they can leave electronic traces that Russia can detect.
Hummer, commander of Ukraine’s 47th mechanized brigade operating along the Zaporizhia front, told The Economist that Russia will fire with all the firepower it has as soon as it identifies the enemy’s target.
