Gives a sense of how prolific small consumer grade drones are in Ukraine (written by Carrick Ryan):
War has always been terrifying... but the new reality of drone warfare is straight out of a dystopian horror movie.Imagine you're a Ukrainian who has been called up to the front lines to fend of Russia's relentless invasion... You're driving through a no-man's land that stretches for hours. Your eyes fixed to the sky, a shotgun is aimed out the passenger window... the last desperate defence against incoming drones.It's been estimated that at any one time, there's 10,000 drones hovering above Ukraine's front line. This is why some are calling this the first Drone War.Any military vehicle driving within 70km from the front line needs to carry a drone detector now. These small devices aren't perfect, but they can usually pick up the electronic waves used by drones within 10km. From these electronic waves, the drone detector can identify two things; what type of drone it is, and how close it is.There are two main types of drones used by the Russians. Small Scout Drones, similar to the commercially available DJI Mavics, that circle the sky constantly looking for a target. These are everywhere. If you hear the alert from the detector that a Scout Drone is nearby, it's probably best to hide, or move really fast to get to your destination.That's not because these drones are dangerous, these drones have nothing deadly on them.The danger is that if these drones spot you and lock you in as a target for its big brother... the Kamikaze Drone.These drones are packed with explosives or even a rocket propelled grenade. They are fast, and driven FPV style (First Person View - like a video game)... and as the name suggests, they're on a one way flight.The Scout Drone will tell the Kamikaze Drone where to find its prey... and watches on until it does.The moment the drone detector changes its tone to warn you that a Kamikaze Drone is in the sky... a silence falls upon the vehicle you're in as you slowly assess whether this killer is coming for you.You'll have to wait for the next update, how much closer is it? Does that distance mean its coming in your direction? It's closer again, and it's moving fast... Then you realise with horror... it's coming straight for you.So your team follows procedure and quickly drives your vehicle under anything that might give it cover, and you scatter as far apart as you can... knowing that at least one of you is probably still being followed by the Scout Drone.You look for anywhere to hide, hoping the Scout doesn't choose to follow you... you don't have time to turn and look for it in the blue sky, or stop and listen for its faint distant buzz... you need to hide and stay still... because the Kamikaze drone is only seconds away.As you lie in the long grass, or under a small tree, you listen anxiously to the buzz of the Scout Drone up above, not knowing if it's locked on you... or someone else in your team...Then the ominous growl of the larger Kamikaze Drone reaches your ears, growing louder and louder.. do you need to move? find a better hiding place? something stronger to hide in, is there a bunker nearby? but you don't know where you are... and you still don't know if you're the target. If you're not... then you should sit still to make sure you don't become one.In the end, by the time you figured out that it's probably coming for you, it's too late.You can get up and sprint as fast as you can, desperately hoping to get to anything that could shield you from the blast... but these things are fast and highly manoeuvrable, they can even stalk you inside a house if there's a window open.Chances are, no matter how fast you sprint, duck or weave, you won't find cover in time... it will hunt you down and detonate when it's close enough.This is how soldiers die now. They're hunted by machines.The future of war is here
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