The Ukraine drone pilot school teaching the new rules of war

The conflict marks a step change in the scale and sophistication of aerial warfare - and Kyiv is determined not to be outflanked

Turkeysold its Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Ukraine. They can fly at an altitude of 7,500 metres and swoop down to attack targets. AFP

The US also gave 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones. AP

Cheap commercial drones like the DJI Mavic series have been modified in Ukraine. AFP

Germany will follow the US in providing a Patriot missile defence system, pictured above, to Ukraine. Reuters

FIM-92 Stinger rockets have been donated to help Ukrainian infantry engage aircraft and drones. The shoulder-launched missiles can shoot down aircraft. Photo: US Army

Germany donated 25 Flakpanzer Gepard all-weather-capable self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. AFP

The High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars, can simultaneously launch several precision-guided missiles. The US has given Ukraine projectiles with a range of about 130 kilometres. EPA

M777 howitzers and about 300,000 shells have been donated to give Ukraine an accurate artillery platform with a range of 50 kilometres. EPA

Ukraine has been sent at least 5,000 of the anti-tank weapons known as NLAWs. These shoulder-launched rockets have proved deadly in the field. PA

Ukrainian troops have also received thousands of Javelin anti-tank missiles. Bloomberg

Poland and the Czech Republic sent Russian-made T72 tanks, which Ukraine has used for decades, to ease integration and cut down training time. EPA

France as announced its plan to give AMX-10 RC “scout tanks” to Ukraine. "This is the first time that western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," a French official said. AFP

Shortly after the French, the US said it would send Bradley fighting vehicles to provide "a level of firepower and armour that would bring advantages on the battlefield”. Reuters

The UK sent their phased-out Saxon armoured vehicles. They found new life protecting infantry units in transit and dealing with tough off-road conditions. Getty Images

Denmark has supplied Harpoon anti-ship launchers to help Ukraine defend its coasts. AFP

The US sent 20 Soviet and Russian made Mi-17 helicopters to Ukraine that had initially been bought for the Afghan government in 2010. AP

Germany has also supplied its latest version of the IRIS-T air defence system designed to shoot down missiles at altitudes up to 20 kilometres. Getty Images

Ukraine has also been given thousands of small arms, bullet proof vests, medical kits, litres of fuel, granades and other weapons systems. Reuters

Leaning in close over the monitor, the two trainees minutely adjust their drone's position over the target.

A few hundred metres from where they sit concentrating, their aircraft hovers over an abandoned lorry being used for target practice.

As they manipulate the controls, 100 metres above the snowy ground the drone's eight whirring rotors respond immediately to their directions.

Confident they are lined up correctly, the trainees release the dummy bomb. It drops silently through the freezing air before crashing noisily on to the lorry's cab.

The drone zips back to the landing site where it is reloaded and the pilots see if they can score another bullseye.

I am here in snow-covered parkland on the outskirts of Kyiv, watching trainee volunteer drone pilots learn how to master the controls of their unmanned aircraft.

Within days the young pilots may be doing this for real against Russian forces in Donetsk or Zaporizhzhia, part of a squadron of civilian-flown drones that embody one of the defining technological advances of the war.

The ominous whirr of drone rotors has joined shellfire and gunshots to form the soundtrack to the war along the country's front lines.

Both sides use hundreds, if not thousands, of drones. The Ukrainians have taken supplies of Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 armed drones. These unmanned aircraft can fly at 25,000 feet before swooping down to attack targets. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial System is a loitering munition able to hover for up to six hours conducting surveillance before dropping and blowing up a small target ― such as a person. The US also provided 700 of its Switchblade kamikaze drones.

For its part, Russia has augmented its domestic drone forces with shipments of the Iranian Shahed 136 unmanned aerial vehicles and launched hundreds of these drones at Ukraine's cities and civilian infrastructure.

The one-way, or kamikaze, aircraft typically fly over urban areas before nosediving and detonating their 40kg warheads.

It is not only military designed or battlefield types of drones that have had an effect ― there is a makeshift fleet of re-purposed and adapted commercial drones and, on the Ukrainian side at least, bespoke home-made craft.

These unmanned civilian craft act as spies, as spotters to guide in artillery strikes, or as bombers themselves by dropping munitions on enemies below.

The Ukrainians' drone effort relies on an army of hobbyists, enthusiasts, engineers and students who have lent their skills and know-how to the military.

“War is a very dynamic story,” says Serhiy Ristenko, the instructor training the new pilots in open ground outside Kyiv.

“Now many organisations are engaged not only in the purchase of drones, but also in training.”

Before Russia's full-scale invasion in February, he was an amateur drone enthusiast using his craft to take landscape photographs around the capital.

He has since turned his drone skills to warfare in the country's east and the south, working for a drone group called Aerorozvidka, which consists of hundreds of volunteers.

“I have dead occupiers to my credit,” he told the National.

Aerorozvidka has been operating since Vladimir Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea and his encroachment into eastern Ukraine.

Drone hobbyists quickly saw the advantage that even cheap hobby drones could provide for the country's overwhelmed and beleaguered forces.

“Drones are important for reconnaissance because they save lives and you don't have to physically go and risk yourself,” Mr Ristenko says

“It is also the accuracy of information.

“The commander can operate on data from a distance, having images and data from the drone that he can share with a tank or artillery unit.”

Ukrainians believe the flexibility and ingenuity of their volunteer drone groups give them an edge over Russia's military. Getty Images

Drones that can drop small bombs were next, sometimes custom made and sometimes adapted from common commercially available models.

Aerorozvidka's engineers and volunteers now build its own eight-rotor craft called the R-18, which can carry a hefty payload of 5kg. Each set for the battlefield costs about $45,000, including costly thermal cameras to work at night, a control point and a ground radio station.

Soviet-era RKG-3 anti-tank grenades are fitted with 3D printed tails to turn them into bombs that can be dropped.

“We usually use this drone to destroy equipment and vehicles that cannot be reached by artillery or infantry,” he says. “Our drone is like a flying mortar.”

A Ukrainian serviceman about to launch a drone on the outskirts of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Similar outfits produce other drones, or modify cheap commercial drones, such as the DJI Mavic series.

The results can be seen in a steady stream of videos shared by both sides on social media with bombs dropped on to vehicles, or into foxholes and trenches.

While Russian forces also use drones to deadly effect, the Ukrainians believe the flexibility and ingenuity of their volunteer drone groups give them an edge.

Another drone operator, Yevhen, said that while the Ukrainian military could still be hidebound and full of bureaucracy at the higher levels, individual commanders had scope to take their own decisions and were prepared to take risks and use new tools.

Units at the front often approach drone workshops and groups like Aerorozvidka. Craft were bought by donations and crowd-funding.

“The first unofficial motto of Aerorozvidka was 'We fight with our heads',” he said. “We must be super efficient to defeat the enemy.”

A tank, seen left, fires a round in Soledar, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Tank fire in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Kharkiv fireworks storage site after it was struck by a Russian missile. Getty

Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, visits his troops on the frontline in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters

A Ukrainian flag attached to a tank flutters in the wind in Bakhmut. Reuters

A specialist from an emergency crew works on a residential building in Donetsk that was damaged in recent shelling. Reuters

A missile fragment left by shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk. AP

Residents remove debris and carry their belongings out of a building destroyed by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

Ukrainian forces fire an anti-aircraft weapon as Russia's attack on the frontline city of Bakhmut continues. Reuters

A car drives past a destroyed building purported to have been used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters

The site of a temporary barracks for Russian soldiers in Makiivka, which was destroyed in a Ukrainian missile attack. Reuters

A Ukrainian serviceman carries his injured comrade from the battlefield to a hospital in the Donetsk region. AP

Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP

Small civilian-designed drones have been used in previous conflicts, including the Syrian war, but analysts say the Ukraine conflict is a step change in the scale and sophistication of their use.

The most sensitive part of the drone contest between Ukraine and Russia is electronic warfare, says Maxim Sheremet, an engineering academic who runs his own drone production line manned by his students.

The adversaries are in a battle to jam or block their opponent's remotely controlled aircraft, with the Russian side particularly adept at using electronic interference.

Back at the drone flying school, the trainees have several days more teaching ahead of them.

By the time they reach this stage, they often already have significant experience on smaller drones, but need to master the controls of the R-18, Mr Ristenko says.

“Probably the most difficult part of training is controlling a drone, because our drone has its own nuances and it differs from those drones that students previously operated,” he says.

“Usually, we spend one to two days on the theory of flight techniques, and then the practice of aiming and dropping bombs.”

The pool of skilled pilots is becoming larger and they are willing to share their expertise, he says. There is also no shortage of willing recruits.

Drones have become so ubiquitous in the war that he sees their use becoming a standard part of military tactics and training.

“Now there are talks about making training in drone control mandatory for military personnel, that is, a person who joins the army learns not only how to shoot, but also how to fly a drone.”