Ukrainian soldiers may be left without aerial recon data — Armed Forces officer

Russian occupiers have found a way to prevent Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance drones from penetrating deep into their positions. In the coming months, Ukrainian soldiers may have to fight “blind.”

This warning was issued by Ukrainian Armed Forces officer Serafim Hordiienko in his column for the publication Focus.

According to him, along the entire front line, the enemy is deploying a layered line of FPV interceptors, creating so-called “kill zones” that sometimes extend 15–20 km deep into enemy territory.

“All reconnaissance drones attempting to fly there during the day are very likely to be shot down. So far, they are not systematically shot down at night, but that is only a matter of time. Climbing higher (to 4,000–5,000 meters) also does not work — the enemy has learned to shoot them down there as well. Conducting "sector reconnaissance" in most directions is currently impossible,” the aerial reconnaissance officer said.

Serafim Hordiienko noted that this situation is the result of the work of the Russian “Rubicon Center for Advanced UAV Technologies” and their mobile strike groups.

“With the increased intensity of Rubicon deployments on the front lines, combined with traditionally poor autumn weather, aerial reconnaissance will cease to be regular,” he warns.

The Ukrainian officer emphasizes that equipping reconnaissance drones with mini EW devices, using the “evasive” system (where the wing sharply maneuvers upon detecting an enemy interceptor to reduce the chance of being hit), and flying at high altitudes are only temporary measures that will not change the overall situation.

“There is currently no solution. Finding one is the number one task for manufacturing companies and many military R&D centers. If a solution is not found, the next spring campaign will be extremely difficult for us,” he concluded.