Ukraine’s Drones: Bayraktars, Switchblades and Ghosts.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, The United States has committed over $3 Billion worth of arms to Ukraine. These have included ammunition, artillery systems, and armoured vehicles and most importantly, unmanned aerial systems or drones. While Ukraine already had a number of different drones before the invasion, such as the Turkish Bayraktar TB2, new western systems are finding their way to the Eastern-European battlefield such as the Switchblade drone and most recently, Phoenix Ghost drones.

The Bayraktar TB2 is a Turkish-made drone in Ukraine’s arsenal. The drone is so admired among the Ukrainian resistance, there is a popular song dedicated to it. A recent newborn lemur at Kyiv’s zoo was even named after it. Ukraine bought dozens of these systems from Ankara before the Russian invasion and has used them to carry out ‘pop up’ attacks on the invaders with lethal effectiveness. Carrying Canadian-made optics and four laser-guided MAM-C or MAM-L missiles, the systems have been used to strike Russian convoys, destroy air defenses but most importantly, videos of the strikes on social media have become massive morale boosters for the Ukrainian people. Costing around a million dollars each, they are much cheaper than their western counterparts and have been referred to as the ‘Toyota Corolla’ of drones; inexpensive, reliable and effective.

The Switchblade drone, produced by AeroVironment in the United States, was shipped to Ukraine as part of an $800 million dollar arms package announced by the US government. The Switchblade is a kamikaze drone, meaning it flies towards its target with its warhead detonating on impact. Unlike other anti-vehicle weapons, the Switchblade is also a loitering munition, meaning it has time to stalk its target before being let loose. The drone comes in two sizes, the Switchblade 300 and the Switchblade 600. The 300 carries a smaller 40mm warhead while the 600 carries an anti-armour Javelin warhead, the same Javelin that is destroying Russian tanks across the country. Launched from a man-portable mortar-tube, it can be carried in a backpack and quickly set up and used with minimal training. First used by American Special Forces against the Taliban in 2010, the dive-bombing drone will be ideal for locating and destroying Russian vehicles.

Phoenix Ghost drones are a brand-new line of drones that have never been deployed in combat. Developed by the US Air Force, the Phoenix Ghost drone was “partly designed with Ukraine in mind.” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters “[The drone] was developed for a set of requirements that very closely match what the Ukrainians need right now in Donbas” referring to the Eastern region of Ukraine, where Russia has focused its assault. Developed by AEVEX Aerospace, a secretive California-based company, very little else is known about the system. John Kirby refused to give details about the drone stating “I would just tell you that this unmanned aerial system is designed for tactical operations.” “In other words, largely and but not exclusively to attack targets. It, like almost all unmanned aerial systems, of course, has optics. So it can also be used to give you a sight picture of what it's seeing, of course. But its principal focus is attack.” After doing independent research, this Author’s conclusion is that the Phoenix Ghost will be used to assist Ukrainian artillery crews in spotting rival Russian artillery batteries and destroying them.

These are but three of the drones being used by Ukraine in their fight for self-determination. Numerous other systems are being deployed by both sides in the conflict, such as the Russian Orlan-10, a medium-range multipurpose drone. Regardless of which side is using them, drones will continue to proliferate among ground forces on the modern battlefield as they are a cost-effective way of engaging the enemy without putting their own soldiers in harm’s way. The days of using only a few prohibitively expensive, technology laden American drones is fast disappearing as modern armies now demand smaller, and less expensive drones to be used by ground forces. Western countries are beginning to see how they might be able to help both Ukraine and themselves by understanding how these systems work on a real battlefield against a difficult near-peer adversary. What they learn now in the Donbas has real-world implications far beyond Ukraine.

The Switchblade drone being Launched.