Posted on 05/19/2022 5:49:48 AM PDT by bert
The machine gun was revolutionary (and not just in a Gatling gun sense) by massively improving the capability of defensive fire power against mass attacks. It killed off the cavalry (and infantry) charge and produced a significant change in tactics both defensively and offensively.
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In the current Ukraine conflict, the Ukrainians have come up with a defensive doctrine using drones against a non-drone equipped aggressor that complements the Azerbiajani doctrine for using drones against a non-drone using defender.
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This is new. It is also likely to be as revolutionary as the machine gun once the use of that was figured out. As we all have seen, the key Ukrainian tactic has been to go after the Russian logistics support. They have not of course just used drones for this, but drones have proven to be very, very valuable in this kind of a war where you have special forces teams and resistance cells behind enemy lines blowing things up
(Excerpt) Read more at ombreolivier.liberty.me ...
Putin is learning the hard way......."It ain't your daddy's Oldsmobile"
https://news.yahoo.com/more-ukraine-fighters-surrendering-mariupol-225250238.html
Looks like those defending in Mariupol decided to surrender.
Do consider that this is a case of using drones against a non-drone using opponent. Although Russia does use drones, they are not nearly as effective in that use as the Ukrainians. However, basic anti-air guns work very well against drones, so their use by the Ukrainians has dropped dramatically.
There is also an electronic and control part of drone usage which can be affected by electromagnetic, radio and microwave energy, making them even less effective against more modern armies.
We are learning a lot about 21st century war.
For drones the surprise is that hunter killer drones are not that great. The Bayraktar got a lot of headlines, but the truth is they are big, expensive, and easily shot down.
What are dominating the battlefield are small expendable observation drones. A drone that costs $1000 can hover over a road intersection and let the artillery or ATGM team know exactly when a Russian convoy goes through.
Do consider that this is a case of using drones against a non-drone using opponent. Although Russia does use drones, they are not nearly as effective in that use as the Americans
The trouble with those commercial drones are they have only 8km range at best, and in super flat and flat terrain as found in Ukraine, the operator has to be in the enemy kill zone, as many have learned.
Artillery drones have vastly different requirements that spotter drones: you can see were a round lands, but correcting the next round is problematical. Currently the only artillery drone operating in the Ukraine is the Orc Orlon-10.
Spotter drones are useful for infantry: who is in the tree line or hiding in a building, for instance.
All drones used in Ukraine at present are susceptible to ground fire. Just like Orc tank sighting systems after the T-64: one well placed rifle shot blinds them; the glass can only be replaced at the factory.
Russian doesn’t have drones?
Hell, ISIS and AlQueda were rigging commercial drones you buy in a store with grenades and 40mm to take out targets and Iraqi armor.
Interesting that the chinese haven’t sold or given them some.
they are not nearly as effective in that use as the Ukrainians
Who’s to say it is Ukrainians operating those drones.
That’s one of the things that really bothers me about the whole thing.
While their people suffer, the whole thing seems more like a Tropic Thunder than a real war.
The 'Achilles heel' I have cited prior. The glaring lack of EW deployment by the Russians in this theater is rather telling.
no
What about the Switchblade or other “kamakazi” drones?
That’s what everyone should worry about.
Hard to defend against if soldiers on the front line use them like mortars. They could also make ones with anti-personnel functionality, like a flying claymore.
Naa. Drones are pathetic.
Take a look at newest addition to Iron dome type defenses, the C-RAM. It is in production and use. Even shoots down mortar shells.
Drones are like putting a firecracker on a arrow. Yeah, might work at 50 yards. A singleton might be a bother to a moving group of troops. Beyond that, it just crashes in pieces.
Ukraine turned into a “money pit” with the US continuing to pump billions into the battlefield (or wherever it actually ends up).
And the military industrial complex boys get to experiment with their new “toys” .
The loss of civilian lives is just acceptable collateral damage to these neocon REMF’s.
BTTT on drone technology in modern warfare.
Right. Think about small kamikaze drones in trench warfare.
They would made hiding in trenches almost untenable. Fire and forget as the drone seeks out a trench full of men, and explodes directly above them or in the trench itself.
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