DIY Drones: War Will Never be the Same

Johnny Harris
29 Nov 202319:50

Summary

TLDR乌克兰正经历一场由志愿者、学生和技术人员引发的革命,他们利用自己的技能重新设计和制造战争工具以抵抗入侵。与基辅独立报合作,深入了解了这一现象。乌克兰的战术不是依靠更大武器,而是更智能的武器。报道者弗朗西斯·法雷尔介绍了基辅的紧张局势,以及前线无人机的使用情况。乌克兰士兵和志愿者正在使用民用无人机进行侦察和目标定位,甚至将它们改装成携带炸药的一次性“神风”无人机。这种创新不仅提高了乌克兰军队的战斗能力,还展示了乌克兰人民在面对强敌时的团结和创新精神。同时,俄罗斯也在利用电子战技术进行干扰,使得无人机的使用变得更加复杂。乌克兰的无人机制造和使用正在不断进化,成为战争中的关键因素,同时也在改变未来战争的面貌。

Takeaways

  • 🛠️ 在乌克兰,由志愿者、学生和技术人员组成的团队正在重新利用他们的技能,制造新型战争工具以抵抗入侵。
  • 📰 与基辅独立报合作,深入了解了乌克兰如何通过拥有更智能而非更大威力的武器来保持国家的决心。
  • 🚁 乌克兰前线使用无人机进行侦察和目标定位,这些无人机由民用无人机改装,能够携带爆炸物并执行自杀式攻击。
  • 🇺🇦 乌克兰的工程师和学生在家庭、教室和DIY车间中制造无人机,这些无人机直接送往前线士兵,用于战争。
  • 🔍 乌克兰利用DJI民用无人机进行侦察,这些无人机轻便、便携、便宜且不易被俄罗斯雷达探测。
  • 💣 FPV无人机在战场上被乌克兰士兵用来携带爆炸物,通过3D打印技术进行定制,成为精确制导的导弹。
  • 📈 乌克兰每月估计使用约10,000架无人机,这些无人机的快速补充对于前线单位至关重要。
  • 🤖 一个非正式的无人机经济已经自发形成,许多乌克兰人利用他们的技术技能支持国家,制造并供应无人机。
  • 📹 无人机在战场上的使用正在迅速演变,它们被用于侦察、情报收集、携带爆炸物和进行自杀式攻击。
  • 🛡️ 俄罗斯使用电子战和信号干扰来对抗乌克兰的无人机,而乌克兰则通过增强信号来反制这种干扰。
  • 🌐 美国五角大楼正在关注乌克兰的无人机战术,并考虑如何将小型爆炸物或弹药安装在小型无人机上,以推进美国陆军的现代化优先事项。

Q & A

  • 乌克兰在抵抗入侵时使用了哪些非传统工具?

    -乌克兰在抵抗入侵时,除了使用传统的军事武器外,还利用了由志愿者、学生和技术人员制造的新型战争工具,特别是各种无人机(drones)。这些无人机有的是军用设计的,有的则是在家庭、课堂和DIY工作坊中由学生和志愿者制造,用于直接支援前线的士兵。

  • 乌克兰的无人机战术有哪些主要类型?

    -乌克兰的无人机战术主要包括侦察和情报收集、携带爆炸物进行精准打击、以及作为一次性的神风特攻队(Kamikaze)无人机直接撞击目标。此外,无人机还被用来拍摄视频,上传到互联网上以提高士气。

  • 为什么乌克兰需要使用无人机进行战斗?

    -由于俄罗斯拥有更强的空军力量并迅速发展了空中优势,乌克兰需要一种方式来反击。无人机提供了一种在天空中进行侦察和精确打击的手段,帮助乌克兰士兵更好地了解战场情况,提高对敌方目标的打击精度。

  • 乌克兰如何克服无人机在战场上的限制?

    -面对无人机的限制,如易被干扰和信号阻断,乌克兰通过创新和DIY方法来解决。他们使用FPV(第一人称视角)无人机,这些无人机易于组装,成本低廉,并且可以通过3D打印机进行高度定制。此外,乌克兰士兵还使用特殊的无人机来增强信号,以对抗电子战。

  • 乌克兰的无人机制造是如何组织的?

    -乌克兰的无人机制造是由技术人员、工程师、学生和志愿者组成的草根努力。他们利用自己的技术背景和现有资源,自发地将技术和创造力应用于支持国家的战斗。这种非正式的无人机经济是自发形成的,并且遍布全国。

  • 乌克兰的无人机战术如何影响全球军事战术的发展?

    -乌克兰的无人机战术正在推动全球军事战术的发展,特别是在小型无人机的使用上。美国五角大楼已经注意到这一点,并发布了提案,要求美国的小型企业提出如何在小型无人机上安装小型爆炸物或弹药的方案,以推进美国陆军的现代化优先事项。

  • 乌克兰的无人机战术对士兵的士气有何影响?

    -乌克兰的无人机战术不仅在战场上发挥作用,还通过拍摄并发布战斗视频来提高士兵的士气。这些视频通常会配上激进的摇滚音乐,并在互联网上发布,以激励国民和士兵,增强他们对战争胜利的信心。

  • 乌克兰的无人机如何帮助提高炮兵的精确度?

    -乌克兰使用无人机进行侦察,可以观察到炮火实际落点,从而更精确地校准炮兵的射击角度和力度,提高对目标的打击精度。

  • 为什么乌克兰需要不断替换消耗的无人机?

    -由于乌克兰使用的许多无人机是一次性的,如神风特攻队无人机,它们在执行任务后会被摧毁。因此,为了保持前线的作战能力,乌克兰需要不断地替换这些消耗的无人机。

  • 乌克兰的无人机战术如何对抗俄罗斯的电子战?

    -面对俄罗斯的电子战干扰,乌克兰士兵使用特殊的无人机来增强信号,创建无线电信号的桥梁,以对抗电子战,确保飞行员和无人机之间有更稳定的信号连接。

  • 乌克兰的无人机战术对全球无人机市场有何影响?

    -乌克兰的无人机战术可能会对全球无人机市场产生影响,因为它展示了小型消费级无人机在军事应用中的潜力。这可能会促使无人机制造商开发更适应军事需求的产品,同时也可能引发关于无人机使用规范和法律的讨论。

  • 乌克兰的无人机战术是否会改变未来的战争模式?

    -乌克兰的无人机战术已经展示了无人机在未来战争中的重要性,特别是在侦察、精确打击和心理战方面。这种战术的发展和应用可能会促使各国军队重新评估和调整他们的战术和战略,从而改变未来的战争模式。

Outlines

00:00

🏭 乌克兰的民间革命与智能武器

视频介绍了在乌克兰,一群志愿者、学生和技术工人正在重新利用他们的技能,以抵抗入侵。他们与基辅独立报合作,深入了解了这一现象。这些民间人士不是通过制造更大的武器,而是通过制造更智能的武器来保护他们的国家。视频中还提到了乌克兰最大的英文新闻媒体——基辅独立报的记者弗朗西斯·法雷尔,他报道了乌克兰前线的情况,包括俄罗斯对能源系统的导弹和无人机攻击,以及他个人在前线的经历。此外,视频还讨论了垃圾邮件问题,以及如何通过使用Incogni工具来保护自己的隐私。

05:00

🛸 乌克兰战争中的无人机使用

视频深入探讨了乌克兰战争中无人机的使用情况。无人机在战争中的作用日益凸显,它们不仅是军事武器,而且越来越多地由学生和志愿者在家庭、教室和DIY工作室中制造。这些无人机在战场上的使用,从侦察和情报收集到携带炸药的攻击,都展现了乌克兰在技术和创新上的努力。视频还提到了俄罗斯如何通过电子战和信号干扰来对抗乌克兰的无人机战术,以及乌克兰如何通过增强信号和创新战术来应对。

10:02

🛠️ 乌克兰的无人机制造与民间支持

视频中讲述了乌克兰技术人员、工程师、学生和志愿者如何将他们的技术技能用于支持国家,他们制造的无人机被送往前线。这些无人机的制造是非正式的,且广泛分布,许多人参与其中,但这一活动并不在政府或军方的权威之下。乌克兰人利用他们的技术背景和现在的动力,通过即兴和现场解决问题的能力,来应对入侵。视频中还展示了无人机在战场上的多种用途,包括侦察、情报收集、携带炸药和自杀式攻击,以及如何通过发布到互联网上的宣传视频来提升士气。

15:04

🌐 无人机战争的未来与乌克兰的抵抗

视频最后讨论了无人机在现代战争中的重要性,以及它们如何改变战争的形式。美国五角大楼最近发布了一项提案,要求美国的小企业提出如何在小型无人机上安装小型爆炸物或弹药的方案。这表明无人机是未来战争的重要组成部分,并且强调了这种产品的可操作性,即前线的士兵可以在现场安装爆炸物并使用无人机。视频强调了乌克兰人如何通过团结、支持他们的军队和不断的创新来展示他们对长期斗争的严肃态度,以确保他们的国家不会被更大的敌人所吞噬。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡无人机

无人机(Drone)是一种不需要人直接操控的飞行器,可以远程控制或自主飞行。在视频中,无人机是乌克兰战争中的关键工具,用于侦察、情报收集、携带炸药等。它们由志愿者、学生和技术人员制造,用于抵抗入侵,体现了乌克兰人民的创新和自给自足的精神。

💡电子战

电子战(Electronic Warfare)指的是使用电磁能或反电磁能的手段来控制电磁频谱或影响敌方使用电磁频谱的军事行动。在视频中,俄罗斯利用电子战技术干扰乌克兰无人机的信号,这是战争中双方技术对抗的一个例子。

💡信号干扰

信号干扰(Signal Jamming)是一种电子战手段,通过发射电磁波来扰乱或阻断无线通信。在视频中,俄罗斯使用信号干扰技术来对抗乌克兰的无人机,使得无人机无法正常接收控制信号,从而失去作战能力。

💡FPV无人机

FPV无人机(First Person View Drone)指的是一种可以通过第一人称视角进行操控的无人机,通常用于竞速或拍摄特殊的空中镜头。视频中提到,乌克兰士兵将FPV无人机装上炸药,使其成为一种一次性的精准制导武器。

💡DIY工作坊

DIY工作坊(Do It Yourself Workshop)是指个人或小团体自行组织的工作空间,用于制作、修理或创造物品。在视频中,DIY工作坊成为了制造无人机的场所,体现了乌克兰人民在战争中的自力更生和创新精神。

💡3D打印

3D打印是一种制造技术,通过逐层添加材料的方式来构建三维物体。在视频中,3D打印技术被用于制造无人机的部件,如快速释放机制,这使得无人机的制造更加灵活和个性化。

💡神风特攻队

神风特攻队(Kamikaze)原指第二次世界大战中日本的自杀式飞行员,这里比喻为装有炸药的无人机,用于直接撞击敌方目标。视频中提到,乌克兰士兵使用装有炸药的无人机进行自杀式攻击,以低成本实现高价值的军事打击。

💡信息买卖

信息买卖指的是个人信息在黑市上的交易行为。在视频中,提到了个人信息如何被收集并出售给垃圾邮件发送者,这与视频主题虽然不直接相关,但揭示了现代社会中个人隐私保护的问题。

💡隐私保护

隐私保护是指采取措施保护个人隐私不被非法获取或滥用。视频中提到了Incogni这一工具,它可以帮助用户从个人信息买卖的黑名单中移除,从而保护用户的隐私不被垃圾邮件等侵犯。

💡草根努力

草根努力(Grassroots Effort)指的是由普通民众自发组织的活动或运动。在视频中,乌克兰的草根努力体现在全国各地的技术人员、工程师和志愿者自发地制造和供应无人机,以支持前线的战斗。

💡战场创新

战场创新指的是在战争或冲突中,为了适应战斗需要而产生的新技术、新战术或新方法。视频中描述了乌克兰士兵和民间人士如何通过创新的方式,比如使用改装的民用无人机,来应对战争中的挑战。

Highlights

乌克兰心脏地带,一场静悄悄的革命正在酝酿。

志愿者、学生和技术人员正在重新利用他们的技能,制造新型战争工具以抵抗入侵。

与基辅独立报合作,深入了解这一现象背后的真相。

乌克兰不是通过拥有更大的武器,而是通过拥有更智能的武器来保持国家。

乌克兰前线的紧张局势,人们准备迎接俄罗斯导弹和无人机对能源系统的下一轮攻击。

描述了在巴赫穆特市遭遇俄罗斯炮击和迫击炮轰击的经历。

FPV无人机的描述,它们是如何被改装成携带弹头的自杀式无人机。

俄罗斯电子战干扰开始生效,影响了无人机信号的稳定性。

乌克兰使用的许多无人机与记者在野外使用的无人机相似。

垃圾邮件问题已经失控,个人信息被买卖的现象普遍存在。

Incogni工具的介绍,它可以帮助用户从信息列表中删除个人信息。

乌克兰战争越来越依赖无人机,包括军事武器和民间制造的无人机。

乌克兰最大的弱点是空中力量,而无人机成为了反击的关键。

土耳其制造的Bayraktar无人机在乌克兰武器库中非常有效。

乌克兰士兵开始使用DJI民用无人机进行侦察,这些无人机小巧、便携且便宜。

FPV无人机的兴起,它们易于组装,可以高度定制,成为战场上的新利器。

乌克兰士兵将FPV无人机改装成携带爆炸物的一次性“神风”无人机。

无人机的持续供应得益于全国范围内的草根努力,技术人员、工程师和志愿者参与其中。

无人机在战场上的战术迅速演变,主要用于侦察、情报收集、携带爆炸物和作为精确制导导弹。

俄罗斯通过无人机和电子战进行反击,乌克兰则通过提升信号来对抗干扰。

无人机在前线的使用还涉及到拍摄视频,用于提升士气和进行战争宣传。

五角大楼最近发布了一项提案,要求美国小企业提出如何在小型无人机上安装小型爆炸物或弹药的方案。

无人机的使用正在改变战争的面貌,乌克兰的创新和坚韧不拔展现了他们对生存的重视。

Transcripts

play00:00

(electronic whirring)

play00:04

(mysterious music)

play00:08

- [Johnny] In the heart of Ukraine,

play00:10

a quiet revolution stirs.

play00:13

The creation of new tools of war.

play00:18

Built by volunteers and students and technicians,

play00:22

tinkerers who are repurposing their skills

play00:25

to resist invasion.

play00:27

We partnered with the Kyiv Independent

play00:29

to get a deeper understanding

play00:31

of what this actually looks like.

play00:33

This is their story.

play00:35

And the story of how set they are on keeping their country.

play00:39

(gentle music)

play00:41

Not by having bigger weapons, but by having smarter ones.

play00:46

(munition exploding)

play00:49

(tense music)

play00:56

- [Francis] Can you hear me all right?

play00:57

- Yeah, I can hear you. How you doing?

play00:58

This is Francis Farrell,

play01:00

a reporter from Ukraine's largest

play01:02

English language news outlet, the Kyiv Independent.

play01:05

They've been covering this war in-depth

play01:06

and they worked with us to tell this story.

play01:09

How is Kyiv feeling these days?

play01:11

- It's this kind of tense, waiting period,

play01:12

'cause everyone's ready for another kind of wave

play01:16

of Russian missile and drone attacks

play01:18

against the energy system.

play01:20

- I wanna hear about your time on the front lines

play01:23

and I wanna hear about drones

play01:25

and just walk me through that story.

play01:30

- 11 o'clock in the morning, we met our contact.

play01:32

We jumped in his car

play01:33

and headed out straight towards the city of Bakhmut,

play01:37

which is now basically in ruins.

play01:40

(somber music)

play01:46

It was pretty quiet,

play01:48

but then we started to get hit by Russian shelling,

play01:51

by mortar shelling.

play01:52

You can hear the whistle coming in and the explosion.

play01:55

You can feel it in the ground when it's really close.

play02:00

And when the time came,

play02:02

a target was acquired and it was time to go out and fly.

play02:06

They had the drone ready with the munition on it.

play02:09

- And what did the drone look like?

play02:10

Can you describe it?

play02:10

- So it's an FPV drone, so it's a quadcopter,

play02:14

but it's a very kind of crude designs,

play02:17

and on the bottom you have the actual munition strap.

play02:20

It's actually made from a helicopter rocket.

play02:22

They cut the rocket part off and they just used the warhead.

play02:27

The pilot put on these crazy futuristic goggles

play02:30

and have the controller in his hand.

play02:32

(drone whirring)

play02:36

But at that point,

play02:38

you start to see this Russian electronic warfare

play02:40

jamming stuff starting to kick in.

play02:43

So it really is like,

play02:44

"Oh, the signal's gone. Oh, now it's back."

play02:48

There's a button somewhere that's like,

play02:49

okay, this is where we release the bomb.

play02:54

- So a lot of the drones that they're using in Ukraine

play02:57

actually look a lot like the drones I use

play02:59

when I'm out reporting in the field,

play03:01

which I'm gonna get to in a little bit.

play03:03

I need to tell you about something, which is spam.

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Spam, spam, spam has taken over all of our lives.

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Our phones blow up, our email is a mess.

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Spammers will text you. It's all gotten out of control.

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If you've ever wondered how spammers get your information,

play03:17

the answer is they probably bought it.

play03:20

There's an entire market out there

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that none of us know about

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where your information is bought and sold.

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They know your name, your age, where you live,

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your phone number, your email address, what you buy online,

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your browsing history.

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All of this has been collected

play03:34

and sold around on these massive lists.

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The good news here is that we have the right to demand

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that our name and information be taken off these lists.

play03:42

The bad news is that it's really hard

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and cumbersome to do this

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and there's like hundreds of lists.

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All of this brings me to the sponsor of today's video,

play03:49

which is Incogni, a tool that I am so grateful exists,

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because what they do is they go out

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and they take you off of these lists.

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You don't have to do anything.

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You sign up for Incogni,

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you give them permission to act on your behalf,

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and then they go out and they find the list that you're on

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and they start demanding that you be taken off.

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If any of these data brokers push back,

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Incogni continues to push them until all of your information

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is deleted from these lists.

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I signed up for this a while back

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when they came to sponsor a video

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and it has changed my world.

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My phone doesn't blow up anymore.

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My email is way more under control

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and the best part is I get to track the progress.

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I have this like dashboard where I get to see

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how many requests they've sent out,

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how many have been successful,

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how many they're still working on.

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And month after month, they continue to guard my privacy.

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I sleep much better at night knowing

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that I'm not on some people search site

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where people can just look up where I live

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or that my browser history information

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isn't being used to raise my insurance premium,

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which is a thing that happens.

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If you too, want to take back your privacy.

play04:45

There's a link in my description.

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When you click the link, it helps support the channel,

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and it gets you in on a big discount.

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60% off the annual plan of Incogni.

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I do the annual plan so that they're constantly monitoring

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and taking me off these lists.

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I am really glad Incogni exists

play04:58

and I'm really grateful that they sponsored today's video,

play05:00

that they support our journalism.

play05:02

So with that,

play05:03

let's dive back into this video about drones in Ukraine.

play05:06

Francis' reporting shows us how this war,

play05:09

the war in Ukraine,

play05:10

is becoming more and more, a war of drones.

play05:13

- That's what this war is all about, really.

play05:15

It's this mix of very old school brutal tactics

play05:18

of infantry and artillery, but with this high-tech edge,

play05:23

- [Johnny] Some of these drones are military weapons

play05:24

designed for warfare.

play05:25

But more and more we're seeing drones being made in homes

play05:28

and classrooms and DIY workshops around the country

play05:32

by students and volunteers,

play05:34

overnight drone experts who bypass the Ukrainian army

play05:37

and send their drones directly to soldiers

play05:39

on the front line.

play05:40

- This is where war becomes really almost scary

play05:43

and futuristic.

play05:44

- [Johnny] To understand how drones became a centerpiece

play05:46

of this war and why engineering students

play05:49

are the ones making them,

play05:50

we have to remember how the war started.

play05:52

- [Speaker] Putin has just launched a full scale invasion

play05:54

of Ukraine.

play05:57

- Since the beginning of this conflict,

play05:58

Ukraine's biggest weakness has been the sky.

play06:04

Russia has a much stronger air force

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and they quickly developed air superiority.

play06:09

This allowed them to better gather intelligence,

play06:11

support their ground troops, and precisely deploy missiles.

play06:14

This was Russia's huge advantage.

play06:16

Ukraine needed a way to fight back,

play06:18

and so they started turning to military drones.

play06:21

- [News Anchor] Bayraktar, the Turkish-made weapon

play06:23

Ukrainian officials are touting

play06:25

as one of the most effective in their arsenal,

play06:27

that's played a part in slowing down the Russian advance.

play06:30

- [Johnny] But drones like this

play06:31

kind of resemble traditional airplanes.

play06:34

They're easily spotted

play06:35

and shot down by Russia's anti-aircraft weapons.

play06:38

They needed to find another way.

play06:40

- They needed eyes in the sky.

play06:42

That's literally how they tell me every time.

play06:45

And so very quickly there was a frenzy

play06:48

to buy DJI civilian drones for hobbyists,

play06:52

for photographers, YouTubers.

play06:54

- This is actually the type of drone

play06:55

that I've always used when I do my field shoots.

play06:58

And I gotta say, it's a pretty useful tool

play07:00

for the use case of the Ukrainian army.

play07:02

It's light, it's portable, it's cheap,

play07:05

and it's small enough to not be detected by Russian radar.

play07:08

- [Francis] And very quickly they figured out

play07:10

how to integrate them with their tactical maps,

play07:12

learned how to jailbreak the software

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to get around the geoblocking.

play07:17

- Soon you've got Ukrainian soldiers

play07:19

writing back to their families,

play07:20

asking for supplies and bulletproof vests,

play07:24

and more and more, asking for drones.

play07:26

These DJI drones became really useful

play07:28

for helping Ukrainian soldiers

play07:30

have a reconnaissance view from above.

play07:32

They could see the lay of the land.

play07:34

It also helped them more accurately pinpoint their targets

play07:36

of these big artillery guns they were using.

play07:39

- Immediately became the bread and butter

play07:41

for any Ukrainian unit.

play07:42

And then from there,

play07:43

the innovation just really began to get going.

play07:47

(suspenseful music)

play07:52

- These DJI drones were useful,

play07:54

but they had limits.

play07:56

DJI, which is a Chinese company,

play07:58

is not thrilled about their drones being used in war,

play08:01

especially by the Ukrainians.

play08:02

So they make big efforts to block software and hardware

play08:06

from getting into the country.

play08:07

These drones are also vulnerable to Russian jamming.

play08:10

Basically, you can jam the signal,

play08:11

and make these drones basically useless.

play08:13

Also, you can't really customize a DJI drone that much.

play08:17

Ukrainian soldiers needed to be able

play08:18

to customize their drones more and more

play08:20

as the war progressed.

play08:21

And that led to the rise of the FPV drone.

play08:24

(tense music)

play08:29

These drones are usually used for racing,

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or for getting shots like this.

play08:37

The strength of the FPV drone

play08:39

is that they're easily put together with cheap parts

play08:41

and they can be highly customized

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with a little help from a 3D printer.

play08:45

On the battlefield,

play08:46

Ukrainian soldiers started taking these little FPV drones

play08:48

and strapping explosives to them,

play08:50

carrying it across the front line

play08:52

and then barreling right into a Russian target.

play08:54

These cheap drones became the edge that Ukraine needed

play08:57

to level the playing field in the sky.

play08:59

But there was one major problem.

play09:01

- They get destroyed constantly.

play09:03

And obviously,

play09:04

kamikaze drones are only meant to be used once.

play09:07

They're also a kind of expendable material

play09:10

on the front line.

play09:11

- [Johnny] Soldiers begin using a lot of these things.

play09:14

By one estimate,

play09:15

they're using 10,000 of these drones per month.

play09:18

- And if a unit doesn't get them replaced

play09:20

very, very quickly, they can be in big trouble

play09:23

on their little part of the front line.

play09:25

- [Johnny] And yet the flow of drones kept coming.

play09:27

Thanks in part to a widespread effort, a grassroots effort,

play09:31

all around the country from resourceful Ukrainians

play09:34

who saw an opportunity to apply their technical skills

play09:37

to supporting their country.

play09:39

(gentle music)

play09:45

(speaking foreign language)

play09:57

(drone whirring)

play09:59

- The Kyiv Independent helped us connect

play10:01

with some of these drone makers.

play10:02

They are technicians, engineers, some of them are students,

play10:05

a lot of them are volunteers,

play10:07

and they are the ones keeping these drones

play10:10

flowing to the front lines.

play10:11

(speaking foreign language)

play10:22

(speaking foreign language)

play10:33

(speaking foreign language)

play10:39

- This guy, Denis Lyubchenko,

play10:40

used the money and infrastructure from his existing business

play10:44

but redirected it to making drones.

play10:47

(speaking foreign language)

play10:57

- This informal drone economy has cropped up organically

play11:01

and it's widespread.

play11:02

A lot of people are participating in it.

play11:04

But it's outside of the authority

play11:05

of the government or the military.

play11:07

(speaking foreign language)

play11:14

- [Johnny] It's yet another expression of

play11:16

how Ukrainians are resourcefully fighting back

play11:20

in light of their country being invaded

play11:21

by a much stronger power.

play11:23

- So you have IT specialists, you have engineers,

play11:26

and you basically have this nation,

play11:28

which is just very experienced with tinkering

play11:31

and experimenting and coming up with solutions on the spot,

play11:35

or really tricky problems.

play11:36

They've got the technical background

play11:38

and now there's motivation.

play11:40

(suspenseful music)

play11:44

(speaking foreign language)

play11:54

(speaking foreign language)

play12:02

(suspenseful music)

play12:06

- Very often you see fundraisers just scrolling

play12:09

through Instagram Stories organized by friends of soldiers

play12:13

who know that there are people out there on the front line,

play12:15

they need a drone.

play12:17

- So you have started to see that the tactics of drones

play12:20

on the battlefield are evolving really quickly.

play12:22

They're starting to settle into some main tactics

play12:25

that drones are now being used for all the time.

play12:28

A first major one is recon and intelligence gathering.

play12:30

Drones being undetectable eyes in the sky

play12:33

allow Ukrainian soldiers to get a lay of the land

play12:36

in a way that you can't really get any other way,

play12:38

unless you have like a full-blown air force.

play12:40

They're able to track and view

play12:41

their adversary's troop movement, and crucially,

play12:44

they're able to investigate their targets

play12:46

before they try to hit them.

play12:47

When you're shooting these big artillery guns,

play12:49

it's kind of a game of guess and check.

play12:51

You shoot the gun, you hope it hits the target,

play12:54

and then if it doesn't, you adjust it and try again.

play12:57

When you have a drone in the air to observe

play12:59

where that shot actually hits,

play13:00

you can more precisely calibrate your gun

play13:03

so that you're hitting your target more accurately.

play13:05

But with the rise of FPV drones

play13:07

and all of this customization,

play13:08

you're starting to see drones become carriers of explosives,

play13:12

bigger and bigger explosives.

play13:14

Just like what Francis saw,

play13:15

a customized explosive that is attached to a drone

play13:19

with a 3D printed quick release,

play13:21

that with the press of a button,

play13:22

can release the explosive on the desired target.

play13:25

And then of course there's the kamikaze tactic,

play13:27

which is just to strap an explosive to a drone

play13:30

and run it right into a target, like a tank.

play13:33

This effectively turns your cheap drone

play13:35

into a precision guided missile,

play13:37

something that would cost orders of magnitude more.

play13:40

But as these techniques become more and more sophisticated,

play13:43

so do the counter attacks.

play13:44

Russia counters all of this,

play13:46

not only with drones of their own,

play13:48

they now have fleets of drones

play13:49

that they are using to attack Ukrainian cities,

play13:51

but also with electronic warfare,

play13:53

which basically means jamming signals.

play13:56

This whole tactic relies on radio signals

play13:59

that allow a pilot to see where they're flying

play14:01

and to control the drone remotely.

play14:03

Russia is getting better and better

play14:05

at putting out signal jammers

play14:07

to stop pilots from seeing and controlling their drone.

play14:09

You can see some of this interference happening

play14:12

in some of these drone feeds.

play14:13

And when your drone looks like that

play14:14

and you can't control it, it basically renders it useless.

play14:17

So to counter this,

play14:18

Ukrainian soldiers now put up drones

play14:21

that are specifically meant to boost their signal

play14:23

to create kind of a bridge of a radio signal

play14:26

that will counteract this electronic warfare

play14:29

and secure a more solid signal

play14:31

between the pilot and the drone.

play14:33

The cat-and-mouse game here

play14:34

is kind of the Wild West for warfare,

play14:36

and it is pushing drone warfare into uncharted territory.

play14:40

And finally, these drones on the front lines

play14:42

are being used to capture video,

play14:44

which is then edited together

play14:46

and usually set to some hardcore rock music

play14:49

and published to the Internet to boost morale in this war.

play14:53

(rock music)

play14:57

Morale is a key ingredient to winning a war.

play15:01

And war propaganda is as old as war itself.

play15:04

So when Ukrainians see this footage

play15:06

of a Ukrainian pilot cleverly taking out a Russian target,

play15:10

it has a real effect.

play15:14

- [Off-Screen Voice] Yeah! Bombed them!

play15:17

- The rest of the world is watching this as it unfolds.

play15:19

This is unprecedented territory,

play15:21

strapping explosives to small consumer drones

play15:25

and using them in a real world warfare experience.

play15:28

So this is going to change war forever.

play15:30

And in fact, we're already seeing this.

play15:32

The Pentagon recently released this proposal

play15:35

for small businesses in America to pitch them

play15:38

on how to build a small explosive or munition

play15:42

that they can put on a small drone.

play15:44

This is a part of their innovation and research effort.

play15:46

They say here in this document that the ability

play15:49

to put explosives on small drones is vital

play15:53

for the future of army combat operations.

play15:56

And that their ability to do this would advance

play15:59

the US Army's modernization priorities.

play16:02

They're basically saying that drones

play16:04

are a big part of the future of war,

play16:05

and they emphasize that whatever this product is,

play16:08

it needs to be attachable by a soldier in the field,

play16:11

meaning someone's out there on the front lines

play16:12

and they can take this explosive,

play16:14

they can put it on a drone and they can send it away.

play16:16

Exactly what they're doing in Ukraine.

play16:18

The Pentagon is watching what is happening

play16:20

and they're responding.

play16:21

But for those caught in the middle of this deadly war,

play16:25

drones are about one thing right now, and that's survival.

play16:29

Survival of their country.

play16:30

As this conflict grinds on,

play16:32

Ukrainians continue to show us

play16:35

just how serious they are about enduring this long fight

play16:38

by coming together, by supporting their troops,

play16:40

and endlessly innovating.

play16:42

And in the process,

play16:43

ensuring that their country doesn't get swallowed

play16:46

by their much larger enemy.

play16:48

(speaking foreign language)

play16:59

(speaking foreign language)

play17:03

(drone whirring)

play17:13

(drone whirring continues)

play17:24

(ambient music)

play17:32

Hey folks, thanks for watching.

play17:33

I loved working on this story

play17:36

because I got to talk to people on the ground.

play17:38

I got to interface with the experience of Ukrainians

play17:42

and tinkerers and defenders of their country.

play17:45

I mean, it was really compelling.

play17:47

I'm really grateful for all of those who who spoke to us.

play17:49

I wanna tell you about a couple things.

play17:51

Number one, I don't know if you all know this,

play17:53

but we have a second channel now.

play17:55

It's called "Search Party."

play17:56

It is a geopolitical and global sports explainer channel.

play18:01

Turns out geopolitics and sports

play18:02

are becoming more and more intertwined.

play18:04

And this channel really breaks it down.

play18:07

It is run by my old Vox colleague, Sam Ellis,

play18:11

who is the creator of "Vox Atlas,"

play18:13

and now he runs "Search Party."

play18:15

So go over and subscribe.

play18:17

We have a lot of amazing videos coming out

play18:18

and you won't wanna miss them.

play18:20

If you like this stuff here,

play18:21

you'll like this stuff over there.

play18:22

I wanna say thanks to all the members of The Newsroom,

play18:24

which is our Patreon.

play18:25

The Newsroom members contribute to our journalism,

play18:28

and in return,

play18:29

they get a behind-the-scenes vlog every month.

play18:30

They get access to my scripts, they get royalty-free music,

play18:33

and they get the warm, fuzzy feeling,

play18:35

that they're supporting our journalism.

play18:37

We want to do deeper and deeper videos over on The Newsroom.

play18:41

They allow us to do that, to level up, to be more ambitious.

play18:44

Other ways to support include LUTs and Presets,

play18:46

which we use to color our photos and videos.

play18:50

All the links are in the description, as per usual.

play18:52

And the best support is just being here,

play18:55

watching the videos, commenting, sharing, whatever.

play18:58

I really love the feedback that I get from everybody.

play19:00

I love the good discussions and the comments.

play19:02

And I'm just happy that we can continue to make good stuff.

play19:07

So thanks for being here and I'll see you in the next one.

play19:12

Hey, before you go, I need to tell you one last thing,

play19:14

which is that we made probably our last batch of the poster

play19:18

that I designed last year.

play19:19

It's a poster called "All Maps Are Wrong,"

play19:21

and I'm very proud of it.

play19:22

It shows all the ways that you can take our Earth

play19:25

and project it onto a 2D plane,

play19:27

which always comes with some distortion.

play19:30

Anyway, it's kind of a nerdy map lover thing,

play19:32

and if you're into that,

play19:33

you should go over and check it out before they're all gone.

play19:35

This is probably gonna be our last batch,

play19:36

so get 'em while they last,

play19:37

and the link's in the description.

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