Sunday, March 16, 2025

"Advanced drone tactics drove Ukrainian troops out of Kursk"

From Forbes, March 16:

 Lying In Wait On The Ground, Russia’s Best Attack Drones Devastate Ukrainian Convoys

On Feb. 25, an elite Russian drone group—the Rubicon Center of Advanced Unmanned Systems—launched a devastating wave of attacks on the main supply line supporting the Ukrainian garrison in Sudzha, the center of the Ukrainian-held salient in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Two weeks later on March 10 or 11, the Ukrainians evacuated Kursk and repositioned on the Ukrainian side of the border. They weren’t surrounded, as U.S. President Donald Trump falsely claimed—but they were beaten and forced out of Kursk after occupying part of the oblast for six months.

The Rubicon drone group was key to the Russian victory. And the group’s “advanced drone tactics,” as analyst Andrew Perpetua described them, were central to Rubicon’s efforts. Now we have video evidence of those tactics.

On or before March 12, a Russian first-person-view drone—clutching a warhead and feeding video back to its operators, likely via radio but possibly via fiber-optic cable—flew over a road frequently traveled by Ukrainian supply trucks. That the road was dangerous was obvious: the wrecks of several vehicles dotted the road.

Rather than hovering over the road, its operator hoping a viable target passed by before the drone drained its battery, the drone settled onto the ground near the road—and waited. Resting rather than flying, the unmanned aerial vehicle preserved its precious battery life....

....MUCH MORE