Ukrainian FPV drones devastate Russian convoy near border

Ukrainians, after receiving numerous approvals from NATO countries to use donated equipment for attacks on Russian territory, are not idle. Simultaneously, there are also attacks using improvised weaponry on poorly protected Russian rear positions. We present the details of one such attack.

So far, Ukrainians, for political and image reasons, have tried not to carry out too many attacks on Russian border territories. Of course, there were previous shellings of targets, including in the Belgorod region, using, among others, Polish 122 mm (4.8 inch) M-21 "FENIKS" rockets, but this does not compare to the current dynamics with the use of, for example, M142 HIMARS systems.

Now, an interesting recording has emerged showing the annihilation of a Russian convoy still within the Kursk region, 2.5 km (1.5 miles) from the border. Ukrainian soldiers from the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade destroyed the Russians using FPV drones, which means they had been able to sneak relatively close to the column. At least a dozen vehicles and an unknown number of soldiers were destroyed.

The Ukrainians do not have sufficient advanced long-range anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), such as the Stugna-P or the FGM-148 Javelin. The Russians attack the Ukrainians with a mass of equipment, even of a museum nature. Even for a tank, such as the T-62 or the T-54, something must be used because it is resistant to machine guns or automatic cannons.

For this reason, Ukrainians use FPV drones to carry weapons that are ineffective under normal conditions. Examples include RKG-3 anti-tank hand grenades capable of eliminating combat vehicles from the BMP series or single-head PG-7VL anti-tank grenades. The range of such drones is 800 m (half a mile) or more, depending on the construction and payload.

In the case of the latter, fired from an RPG-7 launcher, the effective range of hitting the target is up to 400 m (440 yards), and the penetration capability of about 50 cm (20 inches) of armour steel is not enough for the front armour of most tanks in Ukraine. Side and rear are different.

Moreover, such missiles can be stopped by even a sufficiently thick steel plate separated from the main armour of the tank by about 50 cm (20 inches). In this way, the famous Russian armoured barns proved to be exceptionally resistant to FPV drones but defenceless against professional anti-tank weapons.

The base of famous drones is simply lightened commercial constructions like the DJI Mavic or DIY builds. Not much is needed to build them because only the following are necessary: frame, electric motors with rotors, control system, camera, and battery. The payload is often attached to such drones with zip ties, and the detonator is two wires that touch to cause an explosion.

Theoretically, the simplest form of protection against them is electronic warfare systems like the Silok-01. The Russians even designed helmet-mounted solutions based on electronics from AliExpress. However, these are not widespread, and there is no guarantee that the opponent will not adapt their drones to the jammers' range.

The war in Ukraine has shown that a sort of frequency war is ongoing between drone manufacturers and jammers, with periods of both unchecked flight and complete grounding for either side.