Enter from the flag: how drone pilots raised the Russian tricolor over Kherson
On Russia Day, drone operators conducted an operation to demonstrate the national flag in the territory of the city of Kherson controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This task was performed by the calculation of drones of the 18th Combined arms army of the Dnepr group of forces. The Izvestia correspondent found out the details of how the drone workers prepared this difficult action and how it took place.
First, the flag
UAZ Patriot drives into a coniferous forest belt. The driver brakes carefully and says that we have arrived at the place. Looking out the car window, you don't realize at all that a combat unit is based here. However, we get out of the car and go to the point indicated to us. And after some time we find ourselves at a camouflaged dugout.
This is both the home and the workplace of our heroes. We go downstairs, where we are met by the unit commander.
— The task to raise the flag on Russia Day was received from the command in advance. We have prepared a tricolor. The difficulty was that it was necessary to overcome a serious EW zone of the enemy. The enemy is constantly creating steady interference in this area," recalls the head of the calculation of FPV drones with the call sign Bigi.
In order to overcome this obstacle, he clarifies, the fighters decided to choose the right time for the operation.
— It was early in the morning, and they did not expect such actions from us, — the commander tells the details. — We have prepared a drone, the Sudoplatovsky VT40. He is the most popular here. The horse is reliable. Almost all of our calculations are now flying on these "birds". Anyway, we hooked up a flag to him and flew. The scout who was filming was warned in advance.
After the operators crossed the Dnieper River, the drones had another difficulty — flying into the territory of the city.
The head of the calculation of FPV drones with the call sign Bigi
"We did this and landed the drone on the building of the former cancer hospital," Bigi continues. — Earlier, enemy FPVS took off en masse from this point. The difficulty was that the enemy could intercept our video signal and notice us coming. They use it a lot. But after I landed, the enemy lost me. Then I flew over Kherson for a while. It was above the city center. I saw buses with civilians passing by. I showed them the Russian flag and congratulated them on Russia Day. As a result, the drone was returned to the base. And I didn't want to leave the flag there. They would have discovered it and could have torn it up.
The Russian National Anthem
But the Russian flag was not the only attribute that the guys used to congratulate the residents of Kherson on the holiday.
— I know that on the same day our colleagues threw the sound column from which the Russian national anthem was broadcast into approximately the same place, — says Bigi. — They used a Mavic drone for this. This is not easy to do, the "bird" can be shot down. But the guys did it. Well done!
Such original promotions are not often held.
"We usually prepare them for some kind of special events,— says Bigi. — But there are also corresponding special tasks. I recently performed one. I've been preparing for it for two days. We had to fly through the EW zone with heavy ammunition and hit the target. It was necessary to choose the right time, drone, control frequency and video signal. Everything worked out.
According to the commander, he and his subordinates regularly mislead the enemy by changing the frequencies.
"They confirm it themselves,— Bigi smiles. — We will learn about this from the interceptions of their negotiations. But they're people too, and they're not stupid. Their electronic warfare system is developing, just like ours. That's why we learn something from them. There's nothing wrong with that. A good drone operator must constantly improve, gaining experience and knowledge.
The commander says that drone control is a constant learning process. For this reason, not everyone becomes a good operator, he believes.
Brother for brother
The enemy knows Biga's calculation, he has to take it into account.
"They understand and know our level of combat work," he says. — They analyze how and how many targets we hit. And they even publish such information in their information sources. My unit's main task is to disrupt enemy logistics. Of course, we destroy both guns and heavy equipment. Over the past few days in June, about ten enemy vehicles were burned.
Assessing who is stronger now in the drone confrontation, he notes that there is no strong bias in one direction or another.
"It all depends on the quality of the pilot and the crew," he said. — And we have these cats and mice with them all the time. Continuous duels. The drone crew itself is not easy to destroy. They hide and disguise themselves. The enemy, in turn, is hunting for us. And here you need to be as focused as possible, do not give yourself slack, effectively disguise yourself, prepare the take-off site and equipment properly. We often capture their drones as trophies. But you have to be as careful as possible with them. They can be mined.
The commander is in his early thirties, and he's been in his job for less than a year. But he gives the impression of an experienced warrior.
— I have a family in Chuvashia: parents, spouse, child. We're waiting for the second one," he says. — When the events in Donbas began in 2014, I was doing military service. Then I followed the events closely. The special operation began in 2022, and my own younger brother found himself in a war zone from the very first days. I was constantly worried about him. I was thinking all the time, like, the youngest is there, and I'm here. After my brother was injured, it was the last straw for me. There was no question of going or not. I told my wife that I was going to MY place. She was supportive. She's a patriot. Anyway, I went to the military enlistment office and signed a contract as a volunteer.
According to the commander, his unit has had more work lately.
"We periodically engage in direct air battles with them, ramming them,— he says. — They're trying to do the same to us. The job has become more difficult. We have a lot of goals. Departure after departure.
The enemy is cunning. Bigi says it's important to identify the target correctly.
"It can be civilian, or it can be a dummy — they often use them," he says. — They are doing everything to force us to waste our resources. Therefore, the additional burden falls on exploration.
The commander is being called — it's time to leave a small dugout, camouflaged in a wooded area near the contact line.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
