Simple to both use and produce, rotor-powered FPV drones are being supplied to Ukrainian forces from multiple manufacturers. Turns out, in some cases, the people responsible for assembly or procurement of parts and details consider the price before the quality, resulting in a product with poor performance.
This insight comes from Andrii, callsign Synoptyk, a creator and chief manager of the Blakytne Nebo school for aerial drone operators, in an exclusive comment to Defense Express.
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"There're many calls from 'line zero,' the boys complain that they received FPV drones which cannot last even three minutes," Andrii said. He shares that there were instances when cheap yet utterly unusable components were procured for assembly or equipping these explosive copters.
Engine's power output, the size and specifications of propeller blades, — all of these factors can decide whether the drone operator will be successful in accomplishing their combat task. Sometimes the aerial vehicle cannot even reach its target.
These challenges call for unification and introduction of common standards for all FPV drones that arrive at the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the expert notes.
"The Ministry of Defense or other government entities have to write down some configuration or technical requirements, on their own or with the help of specialists. Here's for the camera, and here's for the engines, and liftoff weight, for example, no less than 3 kg," Andrii suggests.
Earlier Defense Express reported that Ukraine is planning to produce a million FPV drones in 2024, announced by the country's president Volodymyr Zelenskyi. We pointed out that it would require an almost 67% increase in production rates, however, a top security official believes it's a realistic goal to achieve. In the meantime, we should not forget that making munitions for FPV drones is no less important than the manufacturing of aerial vehicles.
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