Ukrainian military calls on drone enthusiasts to join the fight

Hobbyists are volunteering themselves and their drones in droves after the Ukrainian government called on them to fight for the country last week. “Kiev needs you and your drone”, it sounds in a facebook post on the official page of the Ukrainian army.

Experienced drone users are called to take part in missions with the “112 unit of the Kyiv separate brigade”. People who don’t want to compete can also simply donate their drones. According to Drone DJ There is growing evidence that drones from outside Ukraine are also being supplied by individuals and government agencies.

Also from abroad

Last Thursday book Latvian companies have already delivered some 90 drones to the beleaguered country. There are also more and more posts on Twitter from individuals and companies buying drones in Europe and sending them to Ukraine. Romeo Durcher, vice president of drone company Auterion, said in a Tweeter for example, that he had sent drones to Kiev.

The delivered drones are used to monitor the movement of Russian troops. In doing so, GPS data and other things are transmitted to Ukrainian troops. Some drones are also equipped with night and heat sensors, so they can also be used at night.

Easy to detect

Consumer drones cannot be used as weapons because they are too small. do anyway rumors on Reddit that drones are being used to “throw Molotov cocktails and grenades at Russians”. However, this has yet to be confirmed. Commercial drones have been used as weapons in the past deployed in conflict areas.

Some drones would also be easy to detect. DJI, the largest supplier of commercial drones in Ukraine, offers for example a tool that potentially makes it easier to locate an inexperienced driver. The tool, AeroScope, was designed to give authorities the ability to detect drones flying in restricted airspace. The Russian and Ukrainian authorities could also have access to it.

However, according to Ukrainian drone experts, AeroScope can be circumvented. Still, there is a risk of Russian troops firing at the location of a drone pilot. Australian drone expert Mike Monnik told The Associated Press that Russian troops are actively discussing on Telegram how to track the drones. “The risk to citizens who use drones is always great,” says Monnik. Locating the pilot could result in targeted missile fire.