Typhoon, Ukraine’s new specialized drone unit, plays a vital role in the larger military’s ongoing adaptations to the proliferation of uncrewed systems on the battlefield.
Typhoon unit/National Guard of Ukraine
Gamers have the skillsets to make great drone pilots, including quick decision-making skills.Drone operation is a complex process, especially on the dangerous battlefields of Ukraine.Ukraine’s special drone unit Typhoon is playing a role in adapting to drone warfare challenges.
Screens. Headsets. Controllers. There’s a lot about flying a drone that would feel familiar to gamers, but operating one in battle isn’t anything like a video game, members of Ukraine’s special drone unit told Business Insider.
The unit, Typhoon, says that real drone warfare is more complicated and more dangerous with deadly consequences.
Uncrewed systems, particularly a range of first-person view drones, are seeing widespread use in Russia’s war on Ukraine. Ukrainian operators have made comparisons between how they fly their systems and how they play video games.
The FPV headsets aren’t unlike virtual reality systems, and the controllers often have similar mechanisms, such as joysticks, to ones used with video game consoles. There’s even a video game called “Death From Above” that puts the player in the position of a Ukrainian FPV drone operator, prompting the user to fly through the battlefield, target enemies, and drop bombs on vehicles.
But unlike a video game, the drone wars that are happening in Ukraine are real, coming at a cost in human lives. Drones are buzzing across its skies, constantly threatening soldiers and tanks.
“People think flying a military drone is like playing ‘Call of Duty,’ until they realize there’s no restart option,” a Typhoon operator told Business Insider, referencing the popular war-themed first-person shooter game.
Drone warfare continues to dominate combat in Ukraine, and burgeoning elements, like fiber-optic drones, add new complications.
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine and Russia are engaged in a rapid arms race, developing new systems and countermeasures that require constant adaptation by both sides. Drone warfare has thus become a lot more complicated.
Operations are not as simple as just booting up a system and flying the drone to the target. Drone operators have to analyze the technical setup of the drone, Typhoon said, and then make modifications based on its objective and surroundings, as well as any other anticipated challenges, such as signal jamming.
Adjusting how the drone is being operated also includes reviewing real-time intelligence on the battlefield situation and terrain. And before takeoff, the operator has to coordinate with command.
Once the drone is flying, it’s not a straight path to the target. Enemy drones or countermeasures have to be considered and avoided, including strikes on the drone or attempts to locate and hit the operator. It demands “making split-second decisions — in real time,” Typhoon said.
Both Ukraine and Russia have been intensifying their deployment of first-person drones as loitering munitions, with companies and volunteer organizations on both sides manufacturing drones en masse for battle use.
Stanislav Ivanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Typhoon is Ukraine’s new special drone unit. Officially established in June 2024, it was billed as a major expansion of military efforts to develop uncrewed systems. The number of operators in Typhoon isn’t publicly available for security reasons, but it’s actively recruiting.
Some of the members were present when Typhoon was first revealed to the public, and they also appeared with drone equipment in a video shared online at the time.
Typhoon’s commander, call sign Michael, told BI the unit plays a vital role in the National Guard of Ukraine, “developing and applying specialized UAV [uncrewed aerial vehicles] expertise on the battlefield.” He said the unit combines skilled personnel, such as engineers who can rapidly analyze and develop drone configurations and pilots capable of executing missions and delivering results in battle.
When looking for new recruits, Typhoon prioritizes operators able to learn quickly and adapt to the ever-changing battlefield. That includes gamers.
“Gamers make great drone pilots because they are used to fast-moving situations on the screen, just like in real drone operations,” Michael said. “They already have experience making quick decisions, reacting fast, and controlling complex systems, which are all important skills in combat.”
Gamers have many of the skills necessary to be an effective drone pilot.
Global Images Ukraine via Getty
Ukraine has increasingly prioritized the domestic production and the extensive use of drones. Many of these models can be made cheaply and at scale, helping fill gaps in Ukraine’s options for striking Russian troops or defending territory as Western-provided missiles and artillery have sometimes been in short supply.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have emphasized the importance of drone use in the war in Ukraine, and aerial, surface, and water-based uncrewed vehicles have helped Ukraine achieve some big wins.
Earlier this month, Zelenskyy detailed his ambitions to set new records for its domestic drone production.
“Drones are something that has changed the nature of warfare and these changes are far from being over,” he said. “Today, there is a direct correlation: we need drones to stop the enemy’s advance and to avoid losing people and territory.” For months now, Russian forces have been steadily grinding forward but at high costs.
+ There are no comments
Add yours