Ukraine creates a branch of its armed forces specific to drone warfare

nbc ^ | Feb. 6, 2024 | David Ingram

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Ukraine has added a branch to its armed forces dedicated to drones, a sign of the growing importance of uncrewed aerial vehicles to modern warfare.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces in a video message addressed to his country Tuesday. He said the new branch would improve coordination, planning and logistics as the country continues its war with Russia.

“Drones — unmanned systems — have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky and at sea. Ukraine has truly changed the security situation in the Black Sea with the help of drones,” Zelenskyy said, according to an English translation of his remarks posted on Ukraine’s official website.

Creating a military service specific to drones is unusual, even though the U.S., Israel and other countries have been using drones in combat for decades. In the U.S. government, drone fighter groups are divided among various services and agencies, including the Army, the Air Force and the CIA.

But in recent years, uncrewed vehicles have begun to play a larger role in conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war and Yemen’s civil war. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have used drone and missile attacks to target shipping in the Red Sea and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Naval drones have been effective against Russian ships in the Black Sea. Meanwhile, Russia is also investing in drones

[EEGator]

I wonder if they’ll be effective in the Red Sea…

[Tom Tetroxide]

Zelensky set to flee Ukraine to live in Dubai after Nuland visit | Redacted News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS7XL9_ddyE&ab_channel=Redacted

[hardspunned]

I hope to goodness that the Pentagon is paying attention. A lot of dead Russians and Ukes have paid the price for testing and refining this new warfare. I assume that’s why our carrier battle groups are trying to stay out of range of similar devices.

[Not_Who_U_Think]

While being a drone operator looks pretty cool from the outside, I’m thinking that it puts you in the same group as the flamethrower guy - not likely to survive capture or interrogation.

Interestingly, in the Civil War snipers were shunned by some people who saw the act of sniping as murder - it’s just not fair.

[Navy Patriot]

New warfare, Everyone Adapts.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Navy receives first Orca unmanned submarine from Boeing

[EEGator]

Thanks for the link.

The backstop of drone wars is still nukes.

The current global momentum is not positive in my view.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

I can imagine in the future submarine drones launching smaller underwater or flying drones. What’s the difference between a “smart torpedo” and a “kamikaze underwater drone?”

[EEGator]

Spelling.