Visiting the secret Ukrainian drone testing site racing to keep up with Russian production
Forces News has visited a secret Ukrainian drone testing site where one engineer warned Ukraine is struggling to keep up with Russian production.
Ukraine cannot match Russia in terms of conventional airpower, but has used attack drones to great effect.
But since the 2022 invasion, Russia has become more savvy in terms of countering Ukrainian drones as well as stepping up the production of its own fleet of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Russian forces have deployed more jamming technology - and there are reports of Russian shopping centres being repurposed and turned into drone research laboratories and factories.
Our rifle is our brain
A Ukrainian drone engineer known only as "Maxim" told Forces News how his country was now producing far fewer drones compared with Russia.
"Russia produce thousands and thousands per week of every type of drone. Also the borders are open with China," he said.
"The border is open, you can easily buy all components which you really need."
With official Chinese parts in short supply, Ukraine is trying to make more of its own UAVs.
It has earmarked an extra £1bn of its defence budget next year to buy drones, with small volunteer groups across the country using their skills to help defend Ukraine.
This has seen them trying to make drones that can fly deeper, carry more payload and avoid detection.
Maxim told Forces News that it makes him smile when he sees the drones being used on Russian positions because it helps Ukraine "win this war".
"We know that as engineers our rifle is our brain," he explained.
Some of the UAVs cost just a few hundred pounds to make, but in the right hands they can disable or even destroy Russian equipment worth millions.
This summer's counter-offensive accelerated Ukraine’s use of small attack drones which, depending on their size, could be armed with the likes of an RPG warhead or fragmentation grenade.
One of the larger drones can only be flown at night as it is loud and heavy. This makes it too easy for Russian forces to spot during the day, so the operator waits until after dark, controlling the UAV with a high-tech thermal camera.
However Ukraine's use of drones has not come without cost as several Ukrainian drone operators have been killed due to their payload falling off and exploding, so it is now essential that each attack drone is thoroughly tested before being deployed.
Hundreds of companies are now building drones across Ukraine, with each unit being checked to ensure that its avionics and electronics are working properly - and that any munitions it carries are secure.
Maxim is one of a number of young men, many engineering students and all volunteers, who are are carrying out tests to ensure the drones are both functional and safe for the operators to fly.
The back of van is used as a makeshift control room, from which the volunteers can evaluate how each drone flies, what payload it can carry and how far.
In Ukraine, drones are no longer a hobby, but a technological frontline.
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