Latest news with #Sukharevskyi
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces replaced
Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi has been dismissed from his position as commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), according to a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 3. Sukharevskyi will be replaced by Major Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, commander of the elite drone unit "Birds of Magyar." The Unmanned Systems Forces were established as a separate branch of Ukraine's military in June 2024. The USF works to improve Ukraine's drone operations, creating drone-specific units, ramping up training, increasing drone production, and pushing innovation. The USF has also carried out hundreds of operations deep within Russian territory. "I am proud to have had the honor of leading the USF during its first and most difficult year of formation," Sukharevskyi said in a post commenting on his dismissal. "This year, although incomplete, has been spent productively. We have formed and immediately put into practice the principles on which this unique force operates. ... At the same time, at this stage, our vision for the further development of the USF differs from that of the leadership. I believe that the honest and professional decision in this situation is to end my term as commander of the USF. I am leaving my position with deep faith in everyone who continues to carry this idea forward." Read also: As Ukraine's fate hangs in the balance, 'Soviet' command culture damages war effort Sukharevskyi, previously deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was named the first commander of the newly-created USF on June 10, 2024. According to military personnel who spoke anonymously to the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, Sukharevskyi's relationship with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was tense from the beginning of the USF's formation. Sukharevskyi's appointment was a decision from the president, not Syrskyi, sources said. People close to both Syrskyi and Sukharevskyi also claimed the two men avoided face-to-face interactions. According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Sukharevskyi has now been appointed deputy commander of Ukraine's Eastern Operational Command, where he is expected to implement reforms and lead modernization efforts. Regarding the decision to appoint Brovdi as the new USF commander, Umerov said that Brovdi's "experience with one of the best units should be expanded to the entire command." Along with Sukharevskyi's dismissal and replacement, Ukraine's leadership announced a number of military personnel decisions on June 3, including the appointment of Mykhailo Drapatyi as Commander of the Joint Forces. Drapatyi previously resigned from his position as Ground Forces Commander on June 1 following a deadly Russian missile strike that killed at least 12 Ukrainian soldiers at a training camp in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast that day. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces may be dismissed, could receive new position
Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi is reportedly set to be dismissed from his post as Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, with the possibility of being appointed commander of a newly established army corps instead. Source: Ukrainian military media outlet Militarnyi, citing sources in political and military circles Details: The sources reported that the issue of Sukharevskyi's dismissal had been under discussion within the Armed Forces leadership for several months. It is currently unknown which of the army corps Sukharevskyi may be appointed to lead. Army corps have been established within the Ground Forces, the Air Assault Forces and the Marine Corps of the Ukrainian Navy. For reference: Vadym Sukharevskyi was the first officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under whose command fire was opened on Russian troops. This occurred on 13 April 2014 near the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast. Background: On 10 February 2024, Sukharevskyi was appointed deputy to Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi with responsibility for unmanned systems and the development of drone usage. On 7 May 2024, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers (Ukrainian government) backed a draft decree by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, prepared by the Ministry of Defence together with the General Staff, establishing a separate branch of the Armed Forces – the Unmanned Systems Forces. In June 2024, Sukharevskyi was appointed Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine claims to have fielded a drone-killing laser weapon
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Ukraine claims to be one of the first countries to have successfully developed a laser anti-aircraft weapon, according to a high-ranking military official. The secretive device has reportedly been employed on the battlefield against low-flying targets, likely unmanned aerial vehicles like the Iranian-made Shahed drones. It was first revealed in an interview with a Ukrainian news outlet by Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, the commander of the unmanned systems forces within the Ukrainian military. The device is known as 'Tryzub,' or trident in English, referencing the Ukrainian national symbol, which is superimposed in yellow on a blue background in the country's now world-famous coat of arms. Information on the new system is scarce and jealously guarded. It was first publicly mentioned by Sukharevskyi in mid-December when he revealed the weapon's existence and some key parameters at a defense industry conference in Kyiv, as reported by the Ukrainian Interfax news agency. Asked about it again by Radio Free Europe in February of this year, he confirmed that the weapon was operationally deployed. Speaking in the context of battlefield innovations to counter the threat of Shahed and similar drones and loitering munitions, he said that: 'I repeat – laser technologies are already striking objects at a certain height.' No pictures of the Tryzub have been released yet and it was not possible to independently verify the Ukrainian military's claims. Nor have there been any indications as to where it was deployed or exactly what or how many targets it has engaged. A spokesperson for Brave1, the Ukrainian government's 'united coordinational platform for defense tech,' said that it was 'unable to provide any comments regarding the Tryzub weapons system or its development' in response to an inquiry. It is unclear to what extent the Ukrainian laser weapon may still be in an experimental phase. Although the military has claimed that it succeeded in shooting down enemy 'aircraft,' it is entirely possible that there may be just a single system and its mobility may be limited. Laser weapons can be rather bulky due to their need for power generation and cooling infrastructure. This is a big part of why many of the systems developed around the world are ship-based. However, experts said that a laser weapon system with the specifications that Ukraine reportedly has may be made to fit onto a truck bed. Comparable weapons, such as the South Korean Skylight, which entered regular production last year and has a similar range of two to three kilometers, is housed in a container with a volume of 81 cubic meters and generates approximately 700°C heat during ten- to twenty-second impulses. It entered service in December 2024. Despite the technological challenges, many major players have toyed with the idea of developing similar weapons, and some have dabbled in research and design. The promised advantages primarily focus on the ability to defending against large numbers of low-cost attack aircraft, including drone swarms, at low cost. In fielding such a system, Ukraine would join an elite club of significant military-industrial powers that have developed laser weapons and an even smaller group that has deployed them. It comes as part of broader Ukrainian efforts to reshape the battlefield through innovation. The Unmanned Systems Forces, which appear to be involved in the operation and possibly the development of Tryzub, considering its commander's role in announcing the system's existence, was only established in 2024. It has also been involved in Ukrainian innovations of drone-swarming technologies that reportedly enhanced their ability to strike deep within enemy territory. Lessons learned from Russia's war against Ukraine may have hastened the development of laser weapons in other parts of the world. A month before South Korea's laser weapon entered service, Japan revealed its own truck-based 10-kilowatt laser, which had been in development for more than four years. Ukraine's opponent, Russia, has also invested in laser technologies. In 2019, its Peresvet system was officially announced as having been deployed with five strategic missile divisions around the country. This weapon, however, is primarily meant to blind satellites in space rather than destroy drones much closer to Earth. Russia's deputy prime minister in 2022 claimed that a new laser weapon, named Zadira, was deployed in Ukraine capable of destroying targets up to five kilometers away within five seconds, much more akin to the Tryzub that Ukraine now claims to have developed. The U.S. and Ukraine at the time said there was no indication such a system was actually in use by Russian forces. Germany, Israel and the United States all also have near-operational, land-based laser weapons systems, while other countries like Turkey and Australia are also indigenously working on them. There has been some speculation whether the Ukrainian laser might be a derivative of the British DragonFire system. Significant amounts of the British 'lethal aid' for Ukraine remain classified 'for both operational and commercial reasons,' as the defense ministry has stated. The U.K. government had teased its intention of sending its laser system to Ukraine in April 2024, before backtracking a month later and stating that it would not be included in the government's 2024 aid package, UK Defence Journal reported. Leo Docherty, the British armed forces minister at the time, noted that the system was not yet ready, with the expected date for completion being 2027, a deadline that had been moved forward from 2033. Docherty's statement left the door open for potentially sending the weapon to Ukraine once the development phase was complete. Defense News reached out to the companies cooperating on the DragonFire system. MBDA, which leads the project, declined to comment, while Leonardo said that 'there is no connection between Tryzub and the Dragonfire system.' Qinetiq did not respond to the request. It is entirely possible that Tryzub is indeed an indigenous Ukrainian development. The country has a significant military-industrial base rooted in its significance to the Soviet military complex, important parts of which were based in the now-independent country. Combined with what is commercially available in the laser realm, crafty local engineers might have been able to build a Tryzub-like weapon, industry experts said, adding that the few publicly released parameters seem plausible. 'Laser directed-energy systems, in a military context, are predominantly at the proof of concept stage,' an industry insider, who asked to remain unnamed to discuss sensitive technologies, said. 'These could, in theory, be fielded as an initial operating capability.' The country has radically restructured its defense R&D and acquisition procedures, which has dramatically boosted innovation and responsiveness, a January report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank showed. In the first nine months of 2024 alone, over 600 domestically developed new weapon systems were approved by the Ukrainian government. And Ukraine's February defense expo showcasing domestic military developments, Defense Tech 2025, promised a special focus on lasers and anti-Shahed weapons in its promotional materials – descriptions that fit the Tryzub – alongside other cutting-edge technologies like swarming drones, lethal autonomous weapons and sea drones. Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces did not respond to a request for comment on this topic.
Al Arabiya
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
NATO armies unprepared for drone wars, Ukraine commander warns
NATO armed forces are not ready for a modern drone war, the military commander in charge of Ukraine's unmanned systems warned, three years into a conflict with Russia in which both sides are pushing for a technological edge. Kyiv is striving to stay ahead of the enemy, employing artificial intelligence, deploying more ground drones and testing lasers to bring down Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, said Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. Speaking in a newly outfitted office for the recently founded Unmanned Systems Forces, the location of which Reuters was asked not to disclose, Sukharevskyi laid out the leaps and bounds in which drone warfare had advanced since the start of the invasion in 2022, and the ways in which it upended the established doctrines of war. 'From what I see and hear, not a single NATO army is ready to resist the cascade of drones,' Sukharevskyi told Reuters in a recent interview. He said NATO should recognize the economic advantage of drones, which often cost far less to build than the conventional weaponry required to down them. 'It's just elementary mathematics. How much does a missile that shoots down a (Russian) Shahed (drone) cost? And how much does it cost to deploy a ship, a plane and an air defense system to fire at it?' Long-range drones can cost as little as several thousand dollars for the most basic decoy models, although the Shahed strike drones have been estimated to cost in the tens of thousands. Air defense interceptor missiles usually have a six or seven figure US-dollar price tag and many countries only keep limited stocks, thus making their use highly uneconomical. Sukharevskyi's comments come as some NATO members in Europe ramp up defense spending to prepare for war should the Ukraine conflict drag on or escalate. With US support for Ukraine and Europe wavering, those efforts have intensified. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there has been a vast expansion in drone use. Ukraine says it made 2.2 million small First Person View (FPV) drones and 100,000 larger, long-range ones in 2024. Russia previously gave estimates that it would make 1.4 million FPV drones in the same year. 'Right now, even the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says that more than 60 percent of targets are destroyed by drones,' Sukharevskyi said. 'The only question is how the tactics of their use will develop, and, following on from that, the technological aspect.' Battlefield evolving Russian attacks, often numbering more than one hundred drones, have become a regular occurrence in Ukraine. They are conducted by a mix of Iranian-designed Shahed strike drones and much cheaper, flimsier decoy models that can use up Ukraine's limited stockpiles of air defense missiles. Ukraine has used pickup trucks with mounted machine guns and military aviation to down drones more efficiently, and Kyiv is working on other options such as using FPV interceptor drones and laser weapons. Ukraine successfully shot down fixed-wing drones in testing using a laser, Sukharevskyi said, adding that the goal was to roll out laser systems in combat, although he did not specify timelines. Sukharevskyi said his units were now using a mothership drone that could carry two FPV drones up to 70 km (43 miles) before releasing them and acting as a relay station for their communications. He estimated that there were thousands of unmanned ground vehicles operating on the frontlines, meaning fewer soldiers were needed to go to dangerous areas for logistics or combat. On the battlefield, both sides have adopted extensive electronic warfare as they seek to jam signal links to drones in the air, rendering traditional drones inoperable. This has led to a boom in drones using automated targeting, which guides a drone to its target through artificial intelligence after the pilot selects it through the drone's camera. However, the decision to strike must be made by a human and not by AI, he said. Sukharevskyi believes at least half of Ukraine's frontline drone units are now using such systems to some degree, and that the majority of drones in combat would eventually end up using this system. Sukharevskyi conceded that Ukraine was not able to fully meet strike drone units' demand for munitions, which are usually supplied separately to drones, but did not give further details. He said some units had begun making their own, with one brigade able to make 6,000-10,000 munitions per month. 'If it wasn't for drones, everything would be a lot worse. Drones are the things which allow us to give an asymmetrical response (when) the enemy is larger, stronger and on the attack.'
Khaleej Times
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Nato armies unprepared for drone wars, warns Ukraine commander
Nato armed forces are not ready for a modern drone war, the military commander in charge of Ukraine's unmanned systems warned, three years into a conflict with Russia in which both sides are pushing for a technological edge. Kyiv is striving to stay ahead of the enemy, employing artificial intelligence, deploying more ground drones and testing lasers to bring down Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, said Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, head of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. Speaking in a newly outfitted office for the recently founded Unmanned Systems Forces, the location of which Reuters was asked not to disclose, Sukharevskyi laid out the leaps and bounds in which drone warfare had advanced since the start of the invasion in 2022, and the ways in which it upended the established doctrines of war. "From what I see and hear, not a single Nato army is ready to resist the cascade of drones," Sukharevskyi told Reuters in a recent interview. He said Nato should recognise the economic advantage of drones, which often cost far less to build than the conventional weaponry required to down them. "It's just elementary mathematics. How much does a missile that shoots down a (Russian) Shahed (drone) cost? And how much does it cost to deploy a ship, a plane and an air defence system to fire at it?" Long-range drones can cost as little as several thousand dollars for the most basic decoy models, although the Shahed strike drones have been estimated to cost in the tens of thousands. Air defence interceptor missiles usually have a six or seven figure US-dollar price tag and many countries only keep limited stocks, thus making their use highly uneconomical. Sukharevskyi's comments come as some Nato members in Europe ramp up defence spending to prepare for war should the Ukraine conflict drag on or escalate. With US support for Ukraine and Europe wavering, those efforts have intensified. Since Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, there has been a vast expansion in drone use. Ukraine says it made 2.2 million small First Person View (FPV) drones and 100,000 larger, long-range ones in 2024. Russia previously gave estimates that it would make 1.4 million FPV drones in the same year. "Right now, even the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says that more than 60% of targets are destroyed by drones," Sukharevskyi said. "The only question is how the tactics of their use will develop, and, following on from that, the technological aspect." Russian attacks, often numbering more than one hundred drones, have become a regular occurrence in Ukraine. They are conducted by a mix of Iranian-designed Shahed strike drones and much cheaper, flimsier decoy models that can use up Ukraine's limited stockpiles of air defence missiles. Ukraine has used pickup trucks with mounted machine guns and military aviation to down drones more efficiently, and Kyiv is working on other options such as using FPV interceptor drones and laser weapons. Ukraine successfully shot down fixed-wing drones in testing using a laser, Sukharevskyi said, adding that the goal was to roll out laser systems in combat, although he did not specify timelines. Sukharevskyi said his units were now using a mothership drone that could carry two FPV drones up to 70 km before releasing them and acting as a relay station for their communications. He estimated that there were thousands of unmanned ground vehicles operating on the frontlines, meaning fewer soldiers were needed to go to dangerous areas for logistics or combat. On the battlefield, both sides have adopted extensive electronic warfare as they seek to jam signal links to drones in the air, rendering traditional drones inoperable. This has led to a boom in drones using automated targeting, which guides a drone to its target through artificial intelligence after the pilot selects it through the drone's camera. However, the decision to strike must be made by a human and not by AI, he said. Sukharevskyi believes at least half of Ukraine's frontline drone units are now using such systems to some degree, and that the majority of drones in combat would eventually end up using this system. Sukharevskyi conceded that Ukraine was not able to fully meet strike drone units' demand for munitions, which are usually supplied separately to drones, but did not give further details. He said some units had begun making their own, with one brigade able to make 6,000-10,000 munitions per month. "If it wasn't for drones, everything would be a lot worse. Drones are the things which allow us to give an asymmetrical response (when) the enemy is larger, stronger and on the attack."
