Latest news with #WildHornets
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Drone-mounted grenade launchers have entered the fight in Ukraine
Ukrainians have fitted a Bulgarian Bulspike-AP grenade launcher on a large quadcopter FPV drone. It's been tested for months, but Wild Hornets released new combat footage of the platform on Tuesday. A weapon like this would allow drones to attack without having to directly fly over or into a target. A Ukrainian drone maker released footage on Tuesday showing what's believed to be the first time a grenade launcher was fired in combat from a first-person-view uncrewed aerial system. The Wild Hornets firm published the clips on its Telegram channel, crediting the "Bulava" drone unit of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion in the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Separate Presidential Brigade. The footage shows two instances of the mounted grenade launcher firing over open terrain. In the first clip, a soldier can be seen caught in the resulting explosion and being knocked to the ground. Their fate was unclear based on the footage, but the Wild Hornets said the target was a Russian soldier who died. The target in the second clip was not clearly visible. The drone maker said both clips featured one of its designs, the "Queen of Hornets" drone, as the platform for the grenade launcher. With a 15- to 17-inch frame, the quadcopter is among the largest FPV drones commercially produced for combat in Ukraine, and it's typically used as a bomber. Wild Hornets did not say when the footage was shot, nor did it specify which grenade launcher was used. But during September testing with the "Bulava" unit, the company said the "Queen of Hornets" drone was fitted with the Bulspike AP, a Bulgarian anti-personnel grenade launcher. The platform is meant to be reusable. The Bulspike AP fires a 2-kilogram fragmentation grenade at an effective range of about 100 meters, or 328 feet. A drone mounted with such a weapon could thus give Ukrainian operators far more options to strike, since FPV combat drones are typically either used to fly directly into a target as a munition or to drop explosives from above. The clips released on Tuesday demonstrated the launcher's range capability, showing the mounted weapon firing at enemy targets positioned well ahead of the drone itself. "From now on, an ordinary rocket launcher can work at a distance of 5+ km. This opens up new opportunities for the military," Wild Hornets wrote at the time of testing in September. Still, it's unclear whether Ukraine can or will produce and deploy these drone-mounted launchers at scale. Dozens of Ukrainian companies have developed and tested a massive variety of drone weapons, such as mounted shotguns and Kalashnikov rifles, but troops are still widely relying on loitering munitions and bombers as their bread and butter. Wild Hornets, in particular, has been recognized for producing some of the war's most exotic drone weapons, including FPV drones that spew thermite from above or interceptors designed to fly faster than 100 mph. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
14-05-2025
- Business Insider
Drone-mounted grenade launchers have entered the fight in Ukraine
A Ukrainian drone maker released footage on Tuesday showing what's believed to be the first time a grenade launcher was fired in combat from a first-person-view uncrewed aerial system. The Wild Hornets firm published the clips on its Telegram channel, crediting the "Bulava" drone unit of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion in the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Separate Presidential Brigade. The footage shows two instances of the mounted grenade launcher firing over open terrain. In the first clip, a soldier can be seen caught in the resulting explosion and being knocked to the ground. Their fate was unclear based on the footage, but the Wild Hornets said the target was a Russian soldier who died. The target in the second clip was not clearly visible. The drone maker said both clips featured one of its designs, the "Queen of Hornets" drone, as the platform for the grenade launcher. With a 15- to 17-inch frame, the quadcopter is among the largest FPV drones commercially produced for combat in Ukraine, and it's typically used as a bomber. Wild Hornets did not say when the footage was shot, nor did it specify which grenade launcher was used. But during September testing with the "Bulava" unit, the company said the "Queen of Hornets" drone was fitted with the Bulspike AP, a Bulgarian anti-personnel grenade launcher. The platform is meant to be reusable. The Bulspike AP fires a 2-kilogram fragmentation grenade at an effective range of about 100 meters, or 328 feet. A drone mounted with such a weapon could thus give Ukrainian operators far more options to strike, since FPV combat drones are typically either used to fly directly into a target as a munition or to drop explosives from above. The clips released on Tuesday demonstrated the launcher's range capability, showing the mounted weapon firing at enemy targets positioned well ahead of the drone itself. "From now on, an ordinary rocket launcher can work at a distance of 5+ km. This opens up new opportunities for the military," Wild Hornets wrote at the time of testing in September. 💥 Successful test of the world's first rocket launcher droneThe Bulava drone unit of the Separate Presidential Brigade named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky installed a rocket launcher on the Queen Hornet FPV drone and conducted a successful now on, an ordinary rocket… — Wild Hornets (@wilendhornets) September 13, 2024 Still, it's unclear whether Ukraine can or will produce and deploy these drone-mounted launchers at scale. Dozens of Ukrainian companies have developed and tested a massive variety of drone weapons, such as mounted shotguns and Kalashnikov rifles, but troops are still widely relying on loitering munitions and bombers as their bread and butter. Wild Hornets, in particular, has been recognized for producing some of the war's most exotic drone weapons, including FPV drones that spew thermite from above or interceptors designed to fly faster than 100 mph.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine unveils its own Russian drone killer as U.S. backing wanes
Amid concern in Kyiv that the United States is becoming a less dependable ally, Ukraine has unveiled its own domestically developed drone designed specifically to counter one of Moscow's weapons of choice, Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones. Russia again launched multiple drones on Monday at Ukraine's Sumy region. Explosions rang out from strikes that claimed lives and damaged civilian infrastructure. Vladimir Putin's forces have used the lethal, relatively inexpensive Shahed drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure for years. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visiting Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever met representatives of defense companies in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, where the new Ukrainian weapon system was revealed. Video posted by Zelenskyy on social media showed what was touted as a newly developed interceptor drone, but the images were kept obscure to avoid divulging details of the system, and no information on it was provided. Developers claim the interceptors have already taken down more than 20 Shaheds over about two months. Wild Hornets, a Ukrainian non-profit organization, is one of the entities behind the development of new interceptor drones. A co-founder of the group told CBS News that the interceptors it's working on, a system known as STING, went into production at the beginning of the year and are now being supplied in significant numbers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The organization, which said it's funded largely by private donations like other such groups backing Ukraine's war efforts, claims the interceptors, which it is still developing, can easily reach speeds over 125 miles per hour. Wild Hornets' spokesperson said the group imports many of the components needed to build the STING drones from China, as the European Union currently does "not have similar components of the appropriate quantity and quality." The organization emphasized that it was looking for ways to substitute Chinese components with Ukrainian-made parts. The spokesperson told CBS News that Wild Hornets' production of STING interceptors has been increasing by "several times" every month. Shortly after the weapons system was shown off for Zelenskyy, de Wever and the defense executives in Kyiv last week, Ukrainian and Belgian representatives signed a cooperation agreement between the countries' respective defense industries. Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of joint production to the "future security of all Europe." The importance of stopping Russia's exploding drones The new interceptors could prove vital for Ukraine. They offer a far cheaper and more sustainable option for taking down Russia's relatively small but multitudinous exploding drones compared to traditional air defense systems, which require more expensive anti-aircraft missiles, often supplied by Ukraine's partners. Kyiv has prioritized the development of such domestic technology in a bid to reduce its dependence on missile systems supplied by its Western allies. In a recent interview with a Ukrainian news outlet, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military, said there had already been a reduction in U.S. support, while touting his country's innovation and growing defense production capacity. "The assistance from the United States has decreased. And the main assistance comes from our partners in Europe," Syrskyi told the LB (Left Bank) news outlet in an interview published on April 9. "But we must also rely on our own strength. And we have successes in the production of artillery. Quite significant successes in electronic warfare. We are making progress — our partners are already studying our experience." Moscow has used the Shahed drones to relentlessly target Ukraine's civil, energy and transport infrastructure. Despite a suspected targeting success rate of only about 10%, according to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Shahed's harder-to-detect, low altitude operation and cost of only about $35,000 per unit has made them a weapon of choice for Russia. CSIS notes that a single Russian Kalibr cruise missile, by comparison, costs over a million dollars. Even though Ukraine shoots down a majority of the Shaheds launched by Russia, they still pose a significant threat to the country. Shaheds launched by Russia at Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killed two people and wounded more than a dozen others last month alone. A report issued in March by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Science and International Security said that over the course of seven months, Russia launched some 15,000 Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukraine. Russia started using the Iranian-designed Shaheds in August 2022, six months after Putin ordered his military's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Savannah Bananas pack stadiums with their zany twist on baseball | 60 Minutes Watch: Blue Origin's first all-women flight crew launches to space What's at stake for Meta as Mark Zuckerberg testifies at antitrust trial
CBS News
15-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Weary of waning U.S. support, Ukraine reveals domestically produced Russian drone interceptor
Amid concern in Kyiv that the United States is becoming a less dependable ally, Ukraine has unveiled its own domestically developed drone designed specifically to counter one of Moscow's weapons of choice, Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones. Russia again launched multiple drones on Monday at Ukraine's Sumy region. Explosions rang out from strikes that claimed lives and damaged civilian infrastructure. Vladimir Putin's forces have used the lethal, relatively inexpensive Shahed drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure for years. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visiting Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever met representatives of defense companies in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, where the new Ukrainian weapon system was revealed. Video posted by Zelenskyy on social media showed what was touted as a newly developed interceptor drone, but the images were kept obscure to avoid divulging details of the system, and no information on it was provided. Developers claim the interceptors have already taken down more than 20 Shaheds over about two months. Wild Hornets, a Ukrainian non-profit organization, is one of the entities behind the development of new interceptor drones. A co-founder of the group told CBS News that the interceptors it's working on, a system known as STING, went into production at the beginning of the year and are now being supplied in significant numbers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The organization, which said it's funded largely by private donations like other such groups backing Ukraine's war efforts , claims the interceptors, which it is still developing, can easily reach speeds over 125 miles per hour. Wild Hornets' spokesperson said the group imports many of the components needed to build the STING drones from China, as the European Union currently does "not have similar components of the appropriate quantity and quality." The organization emphasized that it was looking for ways to substitute Chinese components with Ukrainian-made parts. The spokesperson told CBS News that Wild Hornets' production of STING interceptors has been increasing by "several times" every month. Shortly after the weapons system was shown off for Zelenskyy, de Wever and the defense executives in Kyiv last week, Ukrainian and Belgian representatives signed a cooperation agreement between the countries' respective defense industries. Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of joint production to the "future security of all Europe." The new interceptors could prove vital for Ukraine. They offer a far cheaper and more sustainable option for taking down Russia's relatively small but multitudinous exploding drones compared to traditional air defense systems, which require more expensive anti-aircraft missiles, often supplied by Ukraine's partners. Kyiv has prioritized the development of such domestic technology in a bid to reduce its dependence on missile systems supplied by its Western allies. In a recent interview with a Ukrainian news outlet, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military, said there had already been a reduction in U.S. support, while touting his country's innovation and growing defense production capacity. "The assistance from the United States has decreased. And the main assistance comes from our partners in Europe," Syrskyi told the LB (Left Bank) news outlet in an interview published on April 9. "But we must also rely on our own strength. And we have successes in the production of artillery. Quite significant successes in electronic warfare. We are making progress — our partners are already studying our experience." Moscow has used the Shahed drones to relentlessly target Ukraine's civil, energy and transport infrastructure. Despite a suspected targeting success rate of only about 10%, according to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Shahed's harder-to-detect, low altitude operation and cost of only about $35,000 per unit has made them a weapon of choice for Russia. CSIS notes that a single Russian Kalibr cruise missile, by comparison, costs over a million dollars. Even though Ukraine shoots down a majority of the Shaheds launched by Russia, they still pose a significant threat to the country. Shaheds launched by Russia at Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killed two people and wounded more than a dozen others last month alone. A report issued in March by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Science and International Security said that over the course of seven months, Russia launched some 15,000 Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukraine. Russia started using the Iranian-designed Shaheds in August 2022, six months after Putin ordered his military's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Forbes
04-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
A Canadian Dreamed Of Being A Fighter Pilot; Now He Dogfights With Russian Drones
A Russian Lancet attack drone seconds before Butcher's interceptor drone brought it down A Canadian recently celebrated becoming the first foreigner to take down a Russian Lancet loitering munition. The drone pilot, who goes by the callsign 'Butcher,' belongs to an elite interceptor unit, fighting a new type of war in the sky. Many have compared it to the early days of combat aviation during WW1, when pilots used improvised weapons and tactics in a rapidly developing struggle for supremacy. You never know what your opponent will come up with next, and aircraft and pilots are pushed to the edge of their ability. 'At the moment it is, hands down, the most challenging work in terms of drones in Ukraine,' Butcher told me. His fearsome-sounding nickname ('Myasnyk' or м'ясник in Ukrainian) actually comes from the fact that he used to be a butcher back home. This Canadian has come a long way, travelling to Ukraine in 2023 for an NGO doing humanitarian work. But he soon decided this was not enough. Drone interceptor pilot 'Butcher' 'Humanitarian work is critically important but will not end the war,' says Butcher. 'I made the decision to switch to fighting the war.' In his forties and with bad knees, Butcher was not cut out to be an infantryman. But a new combat specialty was in demand: drone operator. He volunteered with the nonprofit group Wild Hornets, who turn donations into lethal drone hardware and who introduced him to a whole new world. 'Wild Hornets taught me to build, maintain and fly drones,' says Butcher. 'I got in a lot of flying practice.' Butcher the joined the 25th Air Assault Brigade with the intention of operating strike drones hunting tanks. The commander asked if he was interested in working in air defence, and he jumped at the chance. It would be the fulfilment of a boyhood dream. Butcher had always wanted to be a fighter pilot, an ambition thwarted by poor eyesight. No surprise that he played a lot of video games as a teen, including plenty of air-to-air combat games and countless hours on MS Flight Simulator. 'I would say being a gamer has definitely helped,' says Butcher. 'You develop hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and you can see small changes on a monitor.' But he notes that gaming skills are not essential. His unit commander, a four-time ace at downing drones, never even played them. 'It takes a lot of different factors, and different people bring different assets to the table,' says Butcher. 'There is no career path for this.' The interceptors stand between Ukrainian forces and Russian drones, including reconnaissance drones which call down artillery and rocket fire and attack drones. Murray Wegeler @ 'We are out in position 24/7, very much like WWII fighter pilots waiting for the call to scramble,' says Butcher. 'At other times we are already up in the air and just jump from target to target or area to area, guarding the skies in a particular sector.' Multiple teams cover a sector, and Butcher says close co-ordination and team work is essential. His recipe for success is 'Patience, strategy, teamwork, skill, communication -- and a dose of luck.' As Butcher sees it the FPV operators going after Russian tanks have it easy. Their target stays more or less in one place, is always at the same altitude and is usually obvious. Strike missions on the ground are a matter of flying in a straight line to a location, identifying the target there and engaging it. Intercepting drones in the air is harder. 'We get intel on targets, and we go searching for those targets, and once we've found them we get up close and detonate our drone,' says Butcher. 'What's complicated is what happens in the air.' Video gaming skills are useful but not essential Finding drones is challenging when you do not know exactly where they are or at what altitude. Unlike crewed aircraft, Butcher's interceptor does not have radar, so he relies on visually spotting drones which may have a wingspan of just a few feet. Some, like the flat flying wing Supercam are virtually invisible seen edge-on. 'It's very, very difficult to sight in, to get visual on the target,' says Butcher. 'Intel is not always super-accurate, so we have to use our brains and intuition -- like understanding what they might be searching for in order to find them.' Interceptors try to approach from above and behind where they will not be spotted by the Russian drone operator. If they can get close then the job may be a quick one. Once an interceptor gets into this position, the target is in trouble. But getting there is not easy But increasingly Russian reconnaissance drones are fitted with rear-facing cameras. When it spots something coming, the camera triggers a series of automatic evasive maneuvers, a system known as Ukhylyant ('Evader,' but also 'draft dodger'). 'We're flying all over the place chasing targets, doing maneuvers. It's very much like dogfighting,' says Butcher. The interceptor is armed with an explosive charge, so the pilot has just one chance to get in close enough and trigger it. But the success rate is high. 'Once we get eyes on a target, it's usually going down,' says Butcher. 'I'd say roughly 75% of the time this is the case.' The Lancet kill was a notable success, because while Russian scout drones orbit in an area for several hours, the Lancet flies directly to its target. 'It requires a greater sense of urgency,' says Butcher. 'Both because of the limited time it's in the air, and because of its intended use.' Knocking one down means that the Lancet – one of Russia's most effective weapons – will never reach its target. Intercepting saves lives. Flying a drone might seem less risky than being in the air. But the Russians are constantly locating and targeting Ukrainian drone teams, who are considered high value targets. 'We're under fire pretty much every day,' says Butcher. 'Artillery, KABs [Russian glide bombs], FPVs, and MLRS [multiple launch rocket systems] are launched all the time. We have plenty of close calls. It's just that some days are closer than others.' Meanwhile drone combat is changing fast. Video has emerged of new Ukrainian interceptors armed with shotguns and netguns, and devices (presumably jammers) that can bring down drones without contact. Similarly, the Russian reconnaissance drones are currently unarmed, though there has been much discussion on Russian Telegram channels of fitting rear-firing weapons. Luckily the Ukrainians are good at adapting swiftly to new demands. 'In Ukraine, we have a sort of direct-to-consumer model happening where we on the front are able to directly communicate with and procure drone technology from companies," says Butcher. 'We can get a new prototype on a Sunday, test it, and provide feedback on Monday. The company will make changes over the next couple of days, and by Friday, we could have the next generation in our hands.' A shipment of new fixed-wing interceptors The interceptors themselves are evolving. The originals were simply modified FPVs like those hitting ground targets. Now there are various bullet-shaped types with improved aerodynamics capable of much greater speeds as well as fixed wings. In sufficient numbers, a network of interceptors may one day protect Ukraine from the nightly waves of Shahed drones, which are not often seen in Butcher's zone. 'They [Shaheds] are rarely in our AO [Area of Operations], so we don't get many opportunities to go after them,' says Butcher 'They tend to be used to strike cities and civilian targets in the rear as opposed to front-line work. They're tools of terror as opposed to tactical weapons, in my opinion.' The interceptor pilots maintain their vigil, sometimes flying twenty sorties a day. Unlike other teams who have safe houses at the rear and who rotate out every three or four days, their work is continuous. One day this will all be over. Some people might have had enough flying, but Butcher wants to carry on being a drone operator after the war. 'I plan to continue working with drones in some capacity,' says Butcher. 'That was part of my motivation for getting into drones. I figured if I survived the war, it would be good to come out of it with an employable skill.' He already has a combat record in drone warfare that few non-Ukrainians can match. If NATO militaries want to learn about how to fight the wars of the future, Butcher's knowledge is likely to be in high demand. (Butcher's Paypal is UAMyasnyk@ for direct donations to his work. One interceptor drone costs less than $1,000 and can bring down a Russian drone costing more than a hundred times as much -– and, more importantly, save lives Special thanks to Murray Wegeler for permission to use images).
