The Drone Age

Yaroslav used to be a hardcore gamer. “I would often play online with Russians, but then in 2014 I realized they were not OK,” he recalls.

Years later in Kyiv, working as an IT Project Manager, he volunteered to join the army in response to the full-scale invasion. A knee injury, followed by retraining, has led to piloting drones for the 116th Brigade. Yet again, Yaroslav is spending many hours each day with a controller in his hands.

The Mavic is just a commercial quadcopter that any of us could purchase for our own photography. While Chinese company DJI produce it, there is no evidence of China attempting to hack into footage:  “The Mavic is easy to get into, but hard to master,” Yaroslav explains. “Though my specialty is dropping grenades into Russian trenches!”

Having never done so prior, he found himself flying drones on the front line after three days of training. He began with reconnaissance missions, before being transferred into direct attack.

With some pride, Yaroslav offers to play back a video of “his work.” I asked what it felt like to kill other soldiers. “100% satisfaction. I really wanted to,” he replies. “You can kill in battle, one-to-one at close range, looking into each other’s eyes. Or you can kill sitting in a bunker, drinking a Coke and pressing a button. It’s a great feeling.”

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Yaroslav estimates that he has dropped 100 grenades over three months, often targeting small openings. When a grenade enters a bunker, he has no way to know the extent of any injury caused – but he never misses the opening. He has learned how to aim accurately, as well as how to maneuver swiftly.

“When I am given the controls, I attempt to rise and to fall, to hover, to spin and to tilt,” he explains. “My future in drone photography has (just about) launched, with no sunflowers or power lines harmed. Looking into the viewfinder I find myself finding myself. What if I were in someone else’s frame? If the relatively cheap Mavic is modified ever so slightly, it becomes a killer: some LED circuitry that would have shone a light is repurposed to open a mechanical grenade release. The button intended for illumination would now trigger destruction.”

Such Ukrainian ingenuity is characteristic of the war efforts both on and off the battlefield. Any gained tactical advantage, however, is fleeting – certainly briefer than the time it might take the US Congress to approve F16 fighters. Nicolai, Captain of the Drone Unit and Yaroslav’s commander, remembers how in 2022, superiority in the skies was on their side.

“Russians had very rubbish drones. Poor cameras and an even worse chain of command. Very few decent models on their side, while we were laying down minefields remotely or ambushing tanks worth millions”, he states.

“But then the altered Mavics started to appear on their side too. Russia has stolen designs from Chinese or Israeli companies, and now produce their own copter drones – with decent cameras amidst a functional chain of command. They also have many more wing drones.”

I think Nicolai was joking when he suspected there might be a Russian drone hovering high above our conversation.  

While it is explained to me how important trenches are to holding the land – the literal defense against invading armies – there remains something bizarre about 21st Century technology buzzing above 19th Century-style trenches.

The drone arms race is on, and the military forces around the world must be watching progress carefully – especially weapons developers.

Nicolai says there is no time to “design” – only to quickly adapt what is already available, but I am certain someone higher up must be making a list of useful features or desirable requests for future drones. Infrared thermal imaging would allow for night operation, for instance, while better waterproofing would allow for extended winter operation.

Strategists will also be observing new behaviors, such as the eyes of a drone informing soldiers within a trench of where to throw their next grenade. Yaroslav insists, however, that “there is no such thing as a super-weapon. Infantry plays the main role to hold ground, and hardware will never be the key to victory.”

Nicolai has served for 11 years, joining a military academy in 2013. He was a lieutenant serving in Donbas before the full-scale invasion, then he was transferred to a multinational peacekeeping center with Americans, Indians and British, before entering combat for two years in Kharkiv Oblast. With a father, a grandfather, and an uncle in the military, he knew he always wanted to be a soldier. Yet he didn’t come into contact with drones until last year.

 He cares deeply about keeping his unit safe and feels that we should take care of people around us. “My wife lives outside Ukraine. It’s important to appreciate those who appreciate you. Your wife, your mother. When I was injured in April this year, I was reminded for whom we are fighting.”

Our time is up.

When asked whether spending so much time outdoors has brought them closer to nature, I am swiftly told that there are too many insects, not enough cafés and poor wi-fi!  

Before departing, Yaroslav has some final words to share. “Don’t be afraid of war. Don’t be afraid to punish evil,” he warns.

“If you don’t do this, nobody will do it for you. The US has feared escalation, but their red lines keep dissolving. Soon it will be Poland or the Baltic States. We are the frontier of Western civilization – we always have been, and we always will be.”