'Game of Drones' in Ukraine's Donbas region

The outcome of the Russia’s new offensive in eastern Ukraine may hinge on which side can keep the most drones in the air, say defense experts.

Ukrainian forces have employed the Turkish Baykar Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial drone to great effect in early fighting around Kyiv. However, stronger air defenses in eastern Ukraine has made operating them more perilous in fighting in Donbas.

The Russian army has used their more advantageous position in the east to step up the use of their Orlan-10 drones to scout out defensive positions.

The Orlan-10 costs about $97,000 (£75,000) each and is equipped with infrared thermal imaging cameras in addition to conventional video cameras, according to The Times of London. It has a 3 meter (10 foot) wingspan and can stay in the air for up to 16 hours.

However, the Orlan-10 is vulnerable to attack because it flies at relatively low altitudes. Ukrainian forces shot down four in a single day (Apr. 20).

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow in air power at the Royal United Services Institute, said a key factor in this phase of the war was whether Russia could continue supplying Orlan-10s faster than they were being shot down.

“If you have a cheap commercially available drone like a quadcopter or a multicopter with a camera feed, then your otherwise fairly imprecise artillery or mortar fire can be quickly corrected on to a target within two or three rounds,” Bronk told The Times.

“It’s a very cheap way of massively increasing the effectiveness of indirect fire.”

The U.S. has donated 700 Switchblade suicide drones to the Ukrainian military, reports Sandboxx. Two feet long and six pounds each, the expendable drone is launched from a tube and directed at locations. The UAV uses onboard sensors to detect potential targets it can ram with a small explosive warhead.  

The Switchblade can stay in the air for 10 minutes with a range of 6 miles (10 km). These one-time-use drones are classified as “loitering munitions” for their ability to stay in the air until it fights a target.