[GK3]

A very informative article on FPV drones and their limitations, from a former drone pilot who volunteered with the Ukrainian armed forces.

https://warontherocks.com/2025/06/i-foug...d-of-suck/

In 2024 and 2025, I served for six months as an international volunteer on a first-person view attack drone team in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. My team was deployed in the Donbas region, in one of the hottest sectors of the front. When I joined the team, I was excited to work with a cutting-edge tool. By the end of my deployment, I was a bit disillusioned. Let me tell you why.
.........
All that said, if a member of a NATO military were hypothetically to ask me whether NATO countries should acquire first-person view drone capabilities, based on my experience and given the current state of the technology, I would probably say no, whether they are radio-controlled or fiber-optic. The vast majority of first-person view drone missions can be completed more cheaply, effectively, or reliably by other assets. Furthermore, other authors have noted that drones still do not come close to matching the effects that can be achieved by massed artillery fires. Additionally, experts on artillery systems consistently note the greater reliability and range of artillery.

I have to wonder about the accuracy of his opinions.  I agree that currently artillery has more range but the instant they fire counter battery radars can detect their launch points and launch counter battery attacks.  This means the artillery and rocket launchers are forced to move after firing and make themselves good targets.  

but there is more

For those who may have a serious interest in this subject, here is a more comprehensive view of this issue and well worth the read.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/05/05/...t%2C%20and

And for those who have a serious interest in this, the author of the above article has a podcast worth checking out: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/le...1762473030

[GK3]

A very informative article on FPV drones and their limitations, from a former drone pilot who volunteered with the Ukrainian armed forces.

https://warontherocks.com/2025/06/i-foug...d-of-suck/

In 2024 and 2025, I served for six months as an international volunteer on a first-person view attack drone team in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. My team was deployed in the Donbas region, in one of the hottest sectors of the front. When I joined the team, I was excited to work with a cutting-edge tool. By the end of my deployment, I was a bit disillusioned. Let me tell you why.
.........
All that said, if a member of a NATO military were hypothetically to ask me whether NATO countries should acquire first-person view drone capabilities, based on my experience and given the current state of the technology, I would probably say no, whether they are radio-controlled or fiber-optic. The vast majority of first-person view drone missions can be completed more cheaply, effectively, or reliably by other assets. Furthermore, other authors have noted that drones still do not come close to matching the effects that can be achieved by massed artillery fires. Additionally, experts on artillery systems consistently note the greater reliability and range of artillery.

I have to wonder about the accuracy of his opinions.  I agree that currently artillery has more range but the instant they fire counter battery radars can detect their launch points and launch counter battery attacks.  This means the artillery and rocket launchers are forced to move after firing and make themselves good targets.  

but there is more

For those who may have a serious interest in this subject, here is a more comprehensive view of this issue and well worth the read.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/05/05/...t%2C%20and

And for those who have a serious interest in this, the author of the above article has a podcast worth checking out: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/le...1762473030