A global audience has been following the events of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and many options have surfaced where almost anyone can help the resistance. United States citizens are particularly outraged over the invasion and resulting destruction, due to our long history from the Cold War with the Soviet Union and our propensity to champion freedom worldwide.
One unique way companies and individuals in the U.S. are helping Ukraine is called 100 Drones for Ukraine. This organization provides U.S. drone retailers an opportunity to sell drones for use on the battlefield, and anyone can donate to help purchase these UAVs. Their current effort is to raise $100 million USD as quickly as possible to purchase 100 drones for use by the Ukrainian armed forces.
Why Are Drones so Important for Ukraine?
“You get cheap airborne surveillance, or even strike capabilities, by using these,” says Ulrike Franke, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who has studied the use of drones in war.
Both large, military-type drones and smaller commercial drones have been used extensively and successfully by both sides in Ukraine. Instead of sending a soldier or vehicle to scout for enemy movement (both of which can be easily destroyed), or depending on satellite surveillance that can only pick out broad details from space, drones allow for closer and more clandestine observation. This makes gathering intelligence on enemy movements much easier, much more accurate and safer.
Drones can also be used to target weapons while keeping the actual launch platforms hidden and out of range of enemy weapons. Airborne surveillance and targeting capabilities have been a great equalizer in Ukraine, saving many lives and causing many enemy losses.
Drones have also captured many events and scenes that help people worldwide see what is really happening on the ground. This is especially helpful, since mainstream media from most countries are unreliable for learning the truth. Some examples of drone footage reveals:
- Russian troops shooting at citizens holding their hands in the air
- Ukrainian troops shelling Russian positions
- Ukrainian troops monitoring the movements of Russian soldiers in real time
- Ukrainian units ambushing Russian troops
- Russian troops running after the transport and falling in the snow after their vehicle abandons them
- A helicopter being shot down as it flies past
Both Russia and Ukraine have used drones with great success, resulting in the drone manufacturer DJI halting sales to both countries. Despite these and other restrictions against drone sales to Ukraine, they clearly are still finding ways to get them and use them in defense of their country and people. Many drone enthusiasts always knew that UAVs could play a large part in military conflicts and that reality is now here. For better or for worse, drones will be used more extensively for military purposes.
The Need for Drone Security & Detection in Military Operations
With all the mounting evidence of how effective drones can be in warfare, the question now becomes, how will countries in battle areas defend against them? While Ukraine has enjoyed some success at shooting down a few large Russian drones, spotting small drones is extremely difficult, and it’s even harder to shoot them down. Jamming radio frequencies to prevent drone flights mostly doesn’t work. Plus, any jamming efforts are easily defeated by simply waiting until the other side is using its own drones — the RF jamming will be inoperative at that time.
“It’s quite startling to see all these videos of Bayraktars (Turkish drones) apparently knocking out Russian surface-to-air missile batteries, which are exactly the kind of system that’s equipped to shoot them down,” said David Hambling, a London-based drone expert.
In addition, flying drones by nap-of-the-earth can defeat most jamming and detection efforts, while still allowing for superior surveillance and targeting capabilities. Experienced drone operators can easily spoof most detection and interdiction efforts by flight and clandestine operating tactics.
1UP Drones offers Drone Defense options that can be customized for Federal Government and Military Operations. This capability not only includes:
- Wide-area detection and early warning
- Integrated alarms and notifications
- Automated summary reporting
- Continually updated drone database
- Automated push to 3rd party APIs
- Scalable and customizable for any site
- Captures and stores forensic evidences
1UP Drone Defense can also be integrated with current defense systems and is easily compatible with ongoing active defense initiatives. The system can be set with automated alerts when intruding drones trigger early warning measures, and can also include countermeasures to eliminate foreign drones. We can also customize a drone defense solution for permanent or portable defense capabilities, allowing this system to be used by large bases or mobile units.
This capability is not widely implemented at this time, but the growing need for drone defense measures is daily being illustrated in Ukraine.
UPDATE: After writing this blog story we learned of another way to support the efforts in Ukraine. Please check out the below information:
You can read a news article about them here, for example:
https://www.reuters.com/
