Heavy Ukrainian drones working in tandem with Kyiv's notorious first-person-view (FPV) drones are proving "extremely dangerous" for Russian forces in the war-torn country, according to the former head of Russia's space agency.
Ukraine is matching heavy, large attack drones—known as Baba Yaga drones—with FPV uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) that fly in pairs at night to make up "entire squadrons" of drones, former Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said in a post to messaging app Telegram.
The night sky above Ukraine is "teeming with enemy drones," Rogozin said, adding that the Baba Yaga is "extremely dangerous" for Russian troops.
Baba Yaga drones are large, multi-purpose Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), often designed as quadcopters, hexacopters and octocopters, according to Samuel Bendett of the U.S. think tank CNA.
The more than 25 months of war in Ukraine has spurred rapid drone development, and Kyiv has been innovative in its wielding of unmanned technology in the air, on land and in the water.
FPV drones quickly became almost emblematic of Ukraine's efforts with UAVs. They can be used to record dramatic battlefield footage where the drone careens toward Russian vehicles before exploding, or deployed as reconnaissance tools to guide artillery strikes.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Kyiv's minister of digital transformation, heading up Ukraine's drone efforts against Russia, told Newsweek in December that "they work sometimes even more efficiently than artillery."
Both sides are constantly trying to gain the advantage in the drone war, pouring resources into development while at once mass-producing and deploying various drone types. Moscow and Kyiv are thought to burn through hundreds of drones each day.
Ukraine has been deploying Baba Yaga drones under the cover of darkness, once many of its FPV drones are pulled back or used. The Baba Yaga drones fly at about 60 kilometers per hour, or about 37 mph, Rogozin said. "But FPVs are nimble and faster."
It is far harder to defend against UAVs at night, Bendett told Newsweek, adding that Russia does not yet have a comparable drone able to carry the same munitions at night. The Baba Yaga's size means that they can carry substantial munitions that are menacing Russian forces," he said.
"We know Russians are either fixing the downed Baba Yagas and fly them as their own, and they are trying to build an equivalent of this drone," Bendett said. "Ukrainians are experts in flying these UAVs."
Pairing up a light drone to attack a target before the Baba Yaga releases its explosives is a Ukrainian tactic in this war, he added.
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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
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