Under the Cover of Darkness, Dozens of Russians Marched Toward the Front Line. Unfortunately for Them, Ukraine's Drones See at Night.
The 3rd Assault Brigade's drones and artillery scattered the Russians.
Ukrainian drones with infrared cameras made a surprising discovery on or just before Saturday: a large number of Russian troops marching, under the cover of darkness, down a road near the front line in northeastern Ukraine.
It would be suicide for troops from either side of Russia’s 39-month wider war on Ukraine to walk in a big group, in daylight, anywhere within each of the half-million or so small drones that buzz over the front every month.
It’s only slightly less suicidal to take that walk at night.
Scrutinizing a video montage from the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade’s Terra drone team, analyst Andrew Perpetua was startled by what he described as a “target-rich environment”: seemingly dozens of Russians, marching in a column, their body heat reading as bright white on the night sensor of a watching Ukrainian drone.
The Terra team’s video montage depicts two FPVs barreling toward the scattering Russians. “They made a big mistake,” a 3rd Assault Brigade spokesman said of the Russians. “Instead of stretching along the greenery, they huddled in a heap.”
“Seriously, WTF are they even doing?” Perpetua mused.
Ukrainian artillery joined the fight, adding to the chaos—and likely inflicting additional casualties on the huddled Russians.
Luckily for the Russians, the Terra team possessed a few night-vision-capable FPV drones—none weighing more than a few pounds nor traveling more than a few miles—but apparently didn’t possess enough, or any, of the bigger vampire bomber drones. These night-capable quadcopters, hexacopters and octocopters can carry heavy loads of grenade-sized bombs and range tens of miles.
The FPV-and-artillery attack apparently left some survivors among the night-hiking Russians. “A vampire I bet could’ve wiped out these guys,” Perpetua wrote.
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Video by Mikola commander of the Terra group was spot on and excellent! Their FPV drone skills are phenomenal. As a US Vet I support their cause and plan to contribute. Slava Ukraine! Slava USA as we fight a domestic attack on our own soil, against our own citizens - an existential crisis to save our constitution! We both have our own battles - Stay strong - Stay in the fight!!!