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Ukrainian citizens should complete online courses and begin assembling drones to meet the needs of the country's military amid its conflict with Russia, Deputy PM and Digital Transformation Minister Mikhail Fedorov has proposed.Unfortunately, as Business Insider reports:
The goal of producing a million UAVs in 2024, recently announced by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is "realistic" if the public helps the government, Fedorov insisted in a post on Facebook on Saturday.
Small, first-person-view (FPV) drones have become "a game-changer" in the conflict, he wrote.
Since the fighting escalated in February 2022, the Kiev government has removed many legal obstacles restricting drone-production and the country's firms are currently increasing output, the minister added.
But any person can help boost Ukraine's UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) arsenal by completing "an engineering course that teaches you how to assemble a seven-inch FPV drone at home," Fedorov explained.
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As for Ukraine, the goal of making one million UAVs this year is "achievable" but won't be enough, he warned, as the country actually needs two or three times more than that.
Ukraine's drone forces are becoming less effective, forcing it to innovate to not be left behind.Besides:
While Ukraine used to be able to rely on off-the-shelf civilian drones, Russia is getting better at countering those, forcing Ukraine to seek more advanced tech.
A Ukrainian drone operator and an expert described the situation to Business Insider.
Jammed and spoofed
They said Russia improved its jamming and spoofing equipment, making those cheaper drones more likely to fail.
Cmdr. Vitaliy Kryukov, a loitering-munition commander for Ukraine's elite Adam Tactical Group, said he believes basic drones will soon be obsolete.
Civilian-grade gear, he said, would have little worth without major software and hardware improvements to extend their range and resist jamming.
Their effectiveness is "significantly dropping" as Russia's electromagnetic warfare systems get more powerful, he said.
Nothing more.