Ukrainian drone operators face major challenges in combat operations due to sub-freezing temperatures affecting all drone components – from cameras to batteries, all of which can fail unpredictably at potentially critical moments.
PHOTO EPA-EFE
Amid a freeze in which temperatures have dropped to -21°C, drones are no longer performing optimally, introducing a significant factor of unpredictability and vulnerability to the battlefield, a drone commander explained to Business Insider.
Lieutenant Serhii Andrieiev, deputy commander of the Kraken drone company, says that frost can severely disrupt the reconnaissance and attack operations of FPV drones, as the components of these drones are not designed to withstand extreme weather conditions.
“Their behavior is unpredictable, as is how they will operate in the cold. It's a kind of Russian roulette”Andrieiev said, pointing out that these drones, whose civilian components, ordered online, unlike military models, do not offer any guarantees of performance in extreme temperatures.
These drones are mass-produced for the civilian market and have cheap components sourced from China.
He said Ukrainian units have learned to adapt, but these problems can delay critical missions or add to the mental stress of troops already fighting in difficult weather conditions.
The Ukrainian commander reported on these challenges after one of the coldest weeks of the war in early February, when average temperatures dropped to around -19°C.
In Kharkov, where Andrieyev's troops are fighting, it was bitterly cold on some nights, with temperatures as low as -21°C.
Drones that are not designed to withstand freezing
All components of an FPV drone can be affected: for example, batteries can discharge faster or their voltage suddenly drops when they reach maximum power in flight, causing the drone to crash without warning.
Then, the thermal contrast between the frozen environment and the drone's internal temperature puts extreme strain on the engines.
Additionally, the resulting condensation can short out wiring or fog up camera lenses, limiting visibility at critical times.
Another problem is the accumulation of ice on the frame and propellers which can affect the aerodynamics and even cause the drone to crash.
“Maybe very frustrating for drone pilots,” Andrieiev said, explaining that sometimes they can only watch helplessly as their drone, which is still transmitting images on the screen, crashes to the ground or into a tree because of a component that suddenly stops working.
“You identify your target, you should hit it. You set up your drone, the drone takes off, flies to the target, and right in mid-flight, it falls to the ground. And it's over”he said.
The rule in drone facilities is this: When they get units that fail in freezing conditions, they return the whole lot to the manufacturer and ask for improvements.
Quality issues aren't as big as they used to be for Ukrainian drone manufacturers, but often returning drones wastes valuable time as pilots have to wait for replacements.
“It takes time, and we should be stockpiling those components and drones so we can replace them faster than the manufacturer can,” he said.
But other important components can also fail if they are of poor quality – antennas, transmitters or even the thin fiber optic cables used to avoid jamming can also fail, with immediate impact on the battlefield.
“The FPV drone is just one link, one element of the whole system”Andrieiev said of the operational challenges that can arise from this vulnerable but vital technology in today's context of warfare.
