19 August, 2024
The soldiers of the 110th Mechanized Brigade shot down a Russian ZALA drone in the Donetsk region using upgraded FPV drones.
A video of the downing of a Russian reconnaissance drone was published by the Unmanned Systems Battalion of this Brigade.
The footage captures a Ukrainian FPV drone ascending to a high altitude, chasing and eventually attacking the Russian UAV.
Upon closer inspection of the video, this drone can be identified as a ZALA 421-16E, a model frequently used by the Russian invaders for reconnaissance.
A Russian ZALA drone in the sights of a Ukrainian FPV drone. Donetsk region. August 2024. Footage from the video of the 110th Mechanized Brigade
To defeat the Russian reconnaissance drone, the 110th Brigade’s FPV drone was outfitted with a remote-detonated fragmentation warhead.
The Russian ZALA 421-16E drone was shot down south of the village of Mykhailivka in the Donetsk region, as analysts of the WarArchive Telegram channel determined from the video footage.
The shooting down of Russian reconnaissance drones in Ukrainian airspace using FPV drones has already become quite common.
The speed of the FPV drone used as a kamikaze interceptor drone is enough to catch up with and engage a Russian reconnaissance drone flying at a low speed.
To expand such opportunities for the Ukrainian military, the Come Back Alive Foundation recently launched an open-ended fundraising campaign as part of its new Dronefall project.
FPV interceptor drones for the 38th Marine Brigade. Ukraine, August 2024. Photo credits: Come Back Alive Foundation
Its aim is to destroy 1,000 reconnaissance drones of the Russian invaders using upgraded FPV interceptor drones.
The project covers not only the purchase of adapted FPV kamikaze drones, but also the creation and provision of groups that will use them. In particular, it involves the transfer of pickup trucks, communications, power and night optics.
Previously, the Come Back Alive Foundation released a video of how the operator of an FPV drone of the Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down a Russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, where fierce battles continue with Russian invaders who want to capture this Ukrainian city.
All of this might sound trivial, but that’s not so. As it turns out, destroying the roach reconnaissance drones is a top priority mission for Ukraine’s drone army. They are responsible for a few painful losses of Ukrainian equipment, which some won’t be so easily replaced by Ukraine’s reluctant allies.
That’s called thinking outside the box, very smart.
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I think that thinking out of the box has become a Ukrainian hallmark.