How could FPV drones change warfare?
racing drones with improvised warheads. Ukraine’s defence ministry calls them kamikazes, because the warhead destroys the drone itself. They are also known as First Person View (FPV) drones because the operator dons goggles that show a video feed from them as they fly.
They can carry out strikes that would be out of reach of other weapons. In one clip that has been posted online FPVs dive into a tunnel to attack a Russian tank. In others they race after and destroy speeding vehicles.
Faster, nimbler and cheaper than regular drones, they could transform warfare, claim analysts. How? Armies have for a while been using consumer quadcopters, which fly themselves, to drop grenades. FPVs require a skilled remote pilot and are built for speed and manoeuvrability.
They loiter as well as fly. The Ukrainians invented homemade versions of these munitions, which are now being copied by the Russians. They are assembled by volunteers or by the soldiers themselves from components provided by fundraisers.
The simplicity of the electronics and use of commercial components means that they are cheap to make. One Ukrainian-made Pegasus attack drone costs $462 to buy. The larger and more refined SwitchBlade drones that America supplies to Ukraine, which carry only a small antipersonnel warhead, cost $52,000 apiece or more.
FPVs’ low cost compensates for their relatively low rate of success in destroying targets. Operators put their success rate at 50%-80%, compared with 90% or more for American Javelin anti-tank missiles. Although FPVs do not have a long range, the live-feed to the operator’s goggles allow them to reach beyond the line of sight, hitting targets behind trees, buildings or ridges or in trenches.
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