The Ministry of Defense showed footage of the combat operation of the Merlin-VR reconnaissance UAV

On March 9, the Russian Ministry of Defense published footage of the Merlin-BP reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Zapad group of forces in the area of the special military operation (SVO).

It is specified that the Merlin-BP drones are unique in that they are capable not only of monitoring the movement of military equipment, camouflaged command posts, firing points and new enemy fortifications, but also of correcting the infliction of fire damage on objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

"This technique, the Merlin-BP-2, with its own equipment, with its ninety—fold day camera, allows you to find difficult-to-reach, very difficult-to-disguise enemy positions," said the head of the Merlin-BP UAV crew with the call sign "Fizruk."

The video showed how, during aerial reconnaissance, the Merlin-BP UAV crew detected an accumulation of camouflaged equipment and shelters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as the movement of enemy equipment, and transmitted the data to the control center. They decided to destroy targets with artillery guns.

As a result of accurate artillery strikes, the targets were destroyed, which is confirmed by objective monitoring footage.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Merlin-BP has identified more than 150 different targets.

As for the characteristics of the reconnaissance UAV, it can conduct reconnaissance in automatic and semi-automatic modes for 10 hours at an altitude of up to 5 km. The Merlin-VR is capable of performing its task in various weather conditions, including under snow cover and behind camouflage nets. It is equipped with a powerful camera and a thermal imager.

And only a tank: how Novoselka was liberated in the DNR

Competent use of armored vehicles contributed to the success of the assault

Earlier, on March 6, the Russian Ministry of Defense showed footage of the combat work of Russian Marines who continue to conduct offensive operations in the south Donetsk area of the SVO zone. It is reported that one of these artillery crews, as a result of firing high-explosive fragmentation ammunition, burned out a stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of such an attack, the enemy lost more than 20 personnel. as well as two pickups and a field gun.