The latest batch of drones from Ukraine’s United24 shows an increasing emphasis on ‘heavy bomber’ drones which are proving highly effective on the battlefield. United24 is a fundraising organization set up by the office of the President, and the Army of Drones initiative is one of its striking successes. Fronted by Mark Hamill as ambassador, the initiative acquires drones from commercial and military suppliers for Ukrainian forces, with the latest delivery including no less than ten different types.
Photographs of the newly-delivered hardware show the full smorgasbord of varieties. Let’s take a closer look.
Long Range Scouts
While useful, Mavic-type quadcopters have a very limited range, and can only travel a couple of miles from the operator before they need to return for a battery recharge. Larger fixed-wing drones can range out much further to find targets for longer-ranger artillery like US-supplies 155mm howitzers and HIMARS.
Four of the types listed are drones of this type: Flirt Cetus, the EOS C VTOl , SKIF and Penguin MK-2 UAVs. The Flirt – ‘Flying Intelligent Robot Tool’ — is made in Poland, the EOS
EOS
The most numerous drones in the new batch were the 100 Phoenix 03 Heavy UCAV drones from Ukrainian company Module-5. No details are available of this drone, but the appearance suggest something with a larger warhead than typical FPV kamikazes which can carry a couple of pounds, and which is likely to be used for taking out tanks rather than trucks.
Heavy Bombers
Three types of DJI drones are included in the order, all heavy lift types. The M300 Matrice is marketed as an industrial inspection drone , the Mavic 3E is for commercial mapping and the Mavic-3T is similar to the 3E but also has a thermal imager for night operations. Typical consumer quadcopters are not intended to carry payloads, but can be rigged to carry a one-pound grenade; the bigger versions are designed to carry cameras and other gear, with the 300 having a capacity of six pounds and the 3E/3T around ten pounds .
The R-18 drones in the order were developed by volunteer group Aerorozvidka and have been extremely effective as night attack drones. The R-18 typically carries a bombload of three RTG-3 anti-tank grenades and operators are skilled at adjusting their aim so of the first misses, the second will be on target.
The last two drone on the list are the STEN-2 and Skyknight. Both of these are produced locally in Ukraine by new startup companies; reportedly there are now more than 80 companies making drones for the military. No details have been released about either , but the pictures show that the STEN-2 is a large, industrial-looking quadcopter while Skyknight is an unusual octotocopter with ‘flat-X’ configuration – four arms each support an upper and a lower rotor. (This might even be a ‘super-heavy’ FPV drone).
The unfinished look suggests that these have been assembled at low cost from available components, made simply but functionally with the sole aim of transporting a required bombload over a specified distance and delivering it accurately.
Unlike Russia, where the government is regularly ripped off by drone makers selling overpriced repackaged Chinese wares, United24 seems to take care over the quality of it purchases. The locally-made alternatives may lack some of the electronic refinements of the larger DJI models, they are likely to cost less than the roughly $9,000 for an M-30 or $13,000 for an M-300
Doing More Damage
As previously described, Ukraine operates a mix-and-match collection of heavy bomber drones with so many different types in service that there is no definitive list. The desire to field everything which can carry a bombload, whether it is a repurposed commercial model, specialist military drone or rapidly-built improvisation, seems to be fueled by just how deadly these drones are in action.
Previously few videos showed bombers dropping anything more than a single grenade, now we are seeing much larger bombloads being dropped.
One video from the Ukrainian 102nd TDF Brigade shows a drone dropping four substantial munitions on a building in which two Russian BTR personnel carriers are concealed; drone video afterwards shows their burned-out shells. Another video from an unspecified unit shows several Russian soldiers occupying a house which is then bombed flat by a large quadcopter. A June 15th compilation from the Alpha Special Operations unit includes several tanks, artillery pieces and trucks destroyed by a drone which drops large munitions, sometimes in pairs.
We are also seeing more videos of tanks completely destroyed by a single, large drone bomb, rather than taking several hits as has been more usual.
A video released by United24 itself on June 8th shows a montage of attacks, including one in which a bomber drops three munitions – which look like RPG
RPG
“We will announce this superdrone’s model after the victory,” United24 state in the caption.
Heavy bombers have distinct disadvantages compared to the lighter versions: they cost many times as much as a $1,000 quadcopter, and they are less portable. You cannot fold one up and slip it into a cargo pocket as you can with a Mavic. But the effect of the greater bombload speaks for itself.
During WW1, basic biplanes gradually diverged along separate evolutionary paths into distinct fighters, scouts and bombers. By WWII there were light, medium and heavy bombers each with their own specific role, as well as dedicated dive and torpedo bombers and ground attack aircraft. These days planes like the F-35 are expected to be fighters, bombers, reconnaissance, ground support and electronic warfare aircraft all in one. But drones are still at the WWII stage of diverging into specialized types.
(You can donate to United24’s Army of Drones – ‘These are the drones you’re looking for’ – at this page )
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