War in Ukraine: London and Riga promise thousands of drones to kyiv

The news from the battlefield is gloomy. Videos taken by drones bear witness to the violence of the fighting. “Ukrainian field commanders must make difficult decisions. They have to ration ammunition,” says a NATO official “concerned” by the situation. As the conflict enters its third year, nothing seems to allow Ukraine to regain an advantage. “We wish there was a magic material. But this is not the case,” we continue while a meeting of the “contact group”, that is to say those supporting Ukraine, was held on Thursday. To rationalize deliveries, thematic “coalitions” were set up like the one, co-led by France, to supply artillery guns. For its part, the United Kingdom, with Latvia, announced on Friday the delivery of “thousands of drones”. “This is a vital capability for Ukraine,” assured Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.

“The United Kingdom will intensify and rationalize the supply by the West of “first person view” (FPV) drones to Ukraine,” the British Ministry of Defense said on Friday. “FPV drones have proven to be very effective on the battlefield (…), as they allow their operators to have an overview of the situation and target enemy positions, armored vehicles and ships with explosive munitions,” detailed the ministry. 200 million pounds (230 million euros) will be devoted by the United Kingdom to the purchase of drones produced “on a large scale and at affordable prices” for Ukraine. The details of the equipment and their number have not been specified for obvious security reasons. But President Volodymyr Zelensky had assessed the need to produce 1 million drones for Ukraine... A new branch of the armed forces dedicated to unmanned systems has also just been created.

Almost no operations on the front are now possible without drones. After the TB2, long-range drones which made it possible to strike the Russian rear, the effort is now focused on minidrones capable of covering the front for “reconnaissance” missions before the attack, during the attack, to disengage or search for dead,” explains an expert on defense subjects. FPV drones, some piloted directly with a virtual reality headset, are proving effective in carrying out kamikaze attacks. “The quality of the remote pilot is essential,” underlines a French military source. The “drone” coalition co-led by London should also organize the training of soldiers, as well as equipment support. Today Ukraine uses nearly 70 different drone systems.

Behind the concept of “drones” lies a diversity of more or less sophisticated or consumable equipment, as an alternative to artillery. “Ukraine needs quantity, but the goal is not to lose 10,000 drones per month!”, warns the expert. “We must not abandon sophisticated systems,” he advises. To cross Russian lines, drones must be resistant to jamming. An alternative is to equip them with autonomous analysis capabilities powered by artificial intelligence, so that the drone can find its way to its target without any connection to the rear.