Johnny Fuses Turn Tiny Drones Into Flying Mines
'What the fuck?' one Russian said of the buzzing munitions
Late last year, Ukrainian operators began rigging their quadcopter-style drones to drop munitions fitted with tamper-proof magnetic fuses.
If a vehicle passes nearby, the munition explodes. If someone tries to move the munition, it explodes.
“These fuses are equipped with a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer that activate the mine when it is hit or moved,” the pro-Ukraine Conflict Intelligence Team explained. “They can also trigger when armored vehicles, or even soldiers carrying weapons or body armor, pass nearby.”
Now first-person-view drones have the same so-called “johnny” fuses, transforming them into tamper-proof magnetic mines.
A Russian soldier shot a video of one of these drones in action recently. In the video, the buzzing FPV drone drops to the ground on the side of a road in Russian-controlled territory. Possibly in Ukraine, possibly in Kursk Oblast in western Russia, where Ukrainian forces hold a 270-square-mile salient.
A Russian military truck speeds past. The drone explodes, fractions of a second too late to damage the truck. “What the fuck?” the Russian soldier exclaims.
The FPV mine’s beauty is in its simplicity and low cost. No need to risk a $25,000 Baba Yaga quadcopter on a mine-laying mission. Just fly a johnny-equipped FPV drone—$500 off the shelf—directly onto a road or footpath.
To be clear, the Russians have similar fuses. In a video that circulated online this summer, a Ukrainian soldier inspects a captured Russian johnny fuse. “This is the fucking thing they drop” with a mine, the soldier complains in the video.
He touches the fuse, triggering it. He holds a metal ax near the fuse, triggering it. “You exploded,” the soldier says.
If the Russians also have johnny fuses, it’s only a matter of time until they turn some of their own FPV drones into flying mines. If they haven’t already done so.
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