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Hunting UAVs with "Martlet": Insight From a Ukrainian Paratrooper

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Hunting UAVs with "Martlet": Insight From a Ukrainian Paratrooper

This serviceman from the Air Assault Forces has downed almost a dozen of russian drones and is willing to share the secret of his success

It is no secret that artillery is the driving force of today’s warfare, says the serviceman of the Air Assault Forces in the Ukrainian Army.

Therefore, it is important to detect and take down unmanned aerial vehicles that help artillery to adjust fire.

Read more: How Does British Martlet MANPADS Can Struck Russia’s Orlan-10 UAV (Video)

"They adjust fire of tanks, artillery and sometimes [cruise] missiles. Hence, when you shot down an enemy UAV, such as reconnaissance ones like ‘Orlan-10’, you, so to say, deprive the enemy of sight.”

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This air defense paratrooper has downed nine russian UAVs since February 24 / Photo credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
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Remnants of another downed UAV / Photo credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The soldier whose name is not disclosed in a video, published by the Air Assault Command, has taken down 9 russian aerial drones during the russian invasion of Ukraine.

According to him, the most difficult part of this job is to detect a drone. It takes about 70% of the time. Then the missile and laser guidance do the rest.

He uses a Martlet man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) manufactured by the United Kingdom and based on its predecessor Starstreak which is, by the way, also used by Ukrainian forces, thanks to the Brits.

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Air defense squad moving into position to hunt for drones, Marlet launchers on their backs, the sights inside the boxes / Photo credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The paratrooper was among those who had trained in the UK with British instructors to learn how to handle the Martlet which is also known under name of Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM).

He says the Martlet is even more convenient to use than a Starstreak since it has lower missile velocity – Mach 1.5 (1,800 km/h) against Mach 3 (more than 3,600 km/h). This way Martlet is easier to operate during its flight.

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The system consists of the launcher (the tube) and sights with laser guidance which are carried separately / Photo credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
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Credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Before the Martlet, the air defense soldier used to operate the “Strela-10" missile mounted on a vehicle. Side note: these Soviet-era missiles have both Ukraine and russia, but the sides happen to use them with different efficiency.

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Photo credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The soldier also reveals russians are more careful these days about getting close to Ukrainian air defense than during the first weeks of invasion. That’s why there are less helicopters and jet aircraft getting shot than before.

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Photo credit: Air Assault Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
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