Russian Spetsnaz Operator Explains How Drones Are Changing Modern Warfare

The Ukraine conflict has shown that small, inexpensive drones have revolutionized modern warfare along with sophisticated uncrewed systems, Altai, a drone operator serving in a Russian Spetsnaz battalion in Donbass, told Sputnik's correspondent Russell Bentley.

Since the start of Russia's special military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, drone warfare has been taken to an unprecedented scale. Uncrewed vehicles – starting with consumer quadcopters and ending with Lancets and Orlans – are used by the Russian military for assault, reconnaissance, and psychological operations.

"You know, in 2018 I understood that the future [of war] is with drones," drone operator with call sign Altai told Sputnik. "Now everybody understands that it's a war of drones. It's not some cyberpunk future fantasy. It's really a reality. One Chinese drone can kill more people than a sniper who really is like a specialist."

How? A drone can guide artillery, it can guide airstrikes and, obviously, that's much more powerful than any sniper rifle.

"You can, if you have a good network - svyaz [connection], radios. Yeah, you can tell your guys who are attacking an 'Ukrop' [a name for Ukrainian nationalists – Sputnik] trench, you can tell [the gunners] where exactly the enemy is. On the right, east, west. It's very important. And also you can drop grenades and bombs. Two weeks ago, one of my comrades killed and wounded 87 Nazis. Two weeks, cold drop."

When it comes to reconnaissance, a small noiseless stealthy drone can watch an adversary's positions from about 200 meters away. One can't see them, one can't hear them, but a drone operator watches closely what's going on on the ground.

"It's a very important issue for drones. It sounds like a game. [The drone operator] doesn't see you. He just sees some pictures on the controller. And if it’s night, then [he] just sees thermal imagery, a white point on the screen," Altai said.

However, it's not a game: per Altai, sometimes he asks himself what if those guys on the other side of the frontline never embraced the inhuman Nazi ideology. "Maybe we can be friends or maybe like a colleague of yours and work in the same factory?" he asked rhetorically.

While many Westerners believe that the conflict started in February 2022, it actually began in 2014, when Nazis took power in Kiev and committed many crimes against their own people in Ukraine, according to Altai. "I understand and know that [which is why] we're here," he said.

The new drone warfare in Ukraine has prompted Russia's gunsmiths to develop both novel uncrewed systems and electronic warfare solutions to bring UAVs down. In addition, Russian military designers have created new protective equipment against drones, taking into account the experience of the special military operation in Ukraine. On top of that, Russia is continuing to develop new weapons "based on new physical principles," including laser weapons. One of them, the "Zadira" ("Bully" or "Badass") laser gun has already been tested in the conflict to shoot down Ukrainian drones.