In better times, Ukrainian drone enthusiasts flew their gadgets across the sky to film weddings, fertilize soybeans, or compete with other drones for fun. Some are now risking their lives by forming volunteer forces with drones to help their country repel the Russian invasion.
“Kyiv needs you and your drone in this moment of rage!” read a Facebook post at the end of last week by the Ukrainian army urging citizens to donate hobby drones and get involved as experienced pilots to fly them.
An entrepreneur who runs a consumer drone store in the capital said his entire stockpile of about 300 drones, manufactured by Chinese company DJI, has been dispersed for the cause. Others are working to deliver more drones across the border from friends and colleagues in Poland and elsewhere in Europe.
“Why are we doing this? We do not have another choice. This is our land, our home, “said Denis Sushko, head of operations at the Kyiv-based industrial drone company DroneUA, which before the war helped provide drone services to farmers and energy companies.
Sushko fled his home late last week after his family had to flee a nearby explosion. He spoke to the Associated Press by phone and text message on Friday after climbing a tree for a better reception.
“We are trying to use absolutely everything that can help protect our country, and drones are a great tool for obtaining real-time data,” said Sushko, who does not have a drone with him but provides expertise. “Now in Ukraine no one remains indifferent. Everyone does what they can. ”
Unlike the much larger combat drones built in Turkey, which Ukraine has in its arsenal, standard consumer drones are not widely used as weapons, but can be powerful reconnaissance tools. Civilians used aerial cameras to track Russian convoys and then transmit images and GPS coordinates to Ukrainian troops. Some of the machines have night vision and heat sensors.
But there is a downside: DJI, the leading provider of consumer drones in Ukraine and around the world, provides a tool that can easily locate an inexperienced drone operator, and no one knows what the Chinese company or its customers can do with the data. This makes some volunteers uncomfortable. The DJI declined to discuss details of how it reacted to the war.
Taras Troyak, a DJI drone dealer who launched the store in Kyiv, said DJI was sending mixed signals about whether it was giving preferential access to – or deactivating – its AeroScope drone detection platform, which both sides in the conflict could potentially use to monitor the flight paths of the other and the communication links between the drone and the device that controls it.
DJI spokesman Adam Lisberg said wartime use was “never expected” when the company set up AeroScope to give police and aviation authorities – including customers in both Russia and Ukraine – a window to detect drones flying in their immediate airspace. He said some users in Ukraine had reported technical problems, but DJI had not deactivated the tool or granted preferential access.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian drone experts say they are doing everything possible to teach operators how to protect their location.
“There are a number of tricks that allow you to increase the level of security when using them,” Sushko said.
Sushko said many in the industry are now trying to get more small drones – including alternatives to DJI – transported to Ukraine from neighboring European countries. They can also be used to support search and rescue operations.
Ukraine has a thriving community of drone experts, some of whom are educated at the National Aviation University or nearby Kiev Polytechnic University and have founded local drone and robotics startups.
“They have this home industry and all these smart people who make drones,” said Fein Greenwood, a U.S.-based civilian drone consultant in response to disasters.
Troiak’s DJI store in Kyiv, which is now closed as the city’s residents take shelter, was a hub for the community because it maintains a support center and hosts a training and hobby club. Even President Vladimir Zelensky once visited the store to buy a drone for one of his children, Troyak said.
A public Facebook group focused on drones, administered by Troiak, has more than 15,000 members who trade advice on how to help Ukrainian troops. A drone photographer belonging to the Ukrainian Drone Racing Association told the Associated Press that he had decided to donate his DJI Mavic drone to the military instead of trying to drive it himself. He and others asked not to be named for fear of their safety.
“The risk to civilian drone operators in Ukraine is still high,” said Mike Monique, an Australian drone security expert. “Determining the location of the operator could lead to directed missile fire, given what we have seen in battles so far. These are no longer the rules of engagement we had in previous conflicts. “In recent days, Russian-language channels in the Telegram messaging app have included discussions on ways to find Ukrainian drones, Monnick said.
Some of Ukraine’s drone community already has experience in deploying its experience in conflict zones due to the country’s long-running conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Monnik’s company, DroneSec, has tracked numerous cases in the last year alone on both sides of the conflict, arming small drones with explosives. One thing Ukrainians have said they have learned is that small quadcopters, such as those sold in stores, are rarely effective in hitting a target with explosive payloads.
“It would seem a bit short-sighted to waste one,” said Greenwood, a consultant based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “I guess the main goal will be intelligence. But if things get desperate, who knows. “
DJI also has experience in responding to fighters trying to arm its drones and uses so-called “geo-constraint” technology to block drone movements during the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. It is not yet clear whether he will do the same in Ukraine; even so, there are ways to get around it.
Small civilian drones are not equal to Russian combat power, but are likely to become increasingly important in a protracted war, leaving drone manufacturers without the ability to be completely neutral. Any action they take or avoid is “indirectly taking sides,” said PW Singer, a New America contributor who has written a book on military robots.
“We will see ad-hoc armament of these small civilian drones, similar to what we have seen in conflicts around the world from Syria to Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan,” Singer said. “Just like the IED or the Molotov cocktail, they will not change the course of the battle, but they will definitely make it difficult for Russian soldiers.
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AP video journalist Nathan Elgren contributed to this report.