‘Hero of Ukraine' commander develops drone-proof uniforms
Major Oleh Shyriaiev, who was recently granted the highest military title of Hero of Ukraine, said he designed the outfit to be shrapnel resistant to save more lives.
The suit uses a combination of kevlar, a heat-resistant synthetic fibre that was originally used as a replacement for steel in racing tyres, and other materials that have the ability to absorb the impact of shrapnel.
Kevlar is not as effective at stopping bullets as the ceramic plates often used in traditional body armour. However, it is lighter and provides good protection against shrapnel, which has become the main battlefield threat because of the proliferation of drones.
Major Shyriaiev said his experience of drone warfare prompted him to design the suit.
He said: 'The idea of these armoured overalls was my initiative and is something that hasn't existed before.
'The reason for thinking about this is drones. When an enemy of a drone drops a grenade or explosive device, whether it hits a soldier or group of soldiers, there is shrapnel and ballistic powder flying around, which have different starting velocities and weight.
'Russia is working at a fairly brisk tempo in developing and using unmanned systems so we need to anticipate that.
'We are working and developing this idea so that in addition to bullet proof vests and helmets, the overalls will be made from so called 'armoured fabric' that stop shrapnel of certain sizes penetrating the material.'
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Russia using children to design and test its military drones, investigation finds
Russian authorities have systematically involved children in the design and testing of drones for the country's war in Ukraine through nationwide competitions that begin with innocent-seeming video games and end up with the most talented students headhunted by defence companies, an investigation has found. The revelations, part of an investigation by the exiled Russian news outlet the Insider, are the latest to show just how much Russia's leaders are dragging the country's youth into the war effort in Ukraine, with 'patriotic' and militarised education often spilling over into outright participation. 'The kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones,' one of the teenagers involved told a journalist, who was posing as a correspondent for state-controlled media to persuade interviewees to speak more freely. 'I know of several people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for major enterprises,' said the teenager. Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine. But the drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to help with the effort. The path starts with a video game called Berloga, launched in 2022, in which 'intelligent bears' have to defend themselves against swarms of bees, sometimes using drones to repel them, the investigation found. Succeeding in the game, which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra credits in exams at the end of high school. The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their roles in the Russian defence industry. The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged to hide it. 'We were forbidden to say that it was needed for the war, and we invented civilian applications. It's a children's program … A project must always have a dual purpose, especially when you're a school student. It's an unwritten rule I've observed at every competition,' said one. While small FPV [first-person view] drones are the deadliest weapon on the frontlines, Russia and Ukraine have also used long-range drones to hit targets far in the rear. Russia sends nightly barrages of kamikaze drones into Ukraine, regularly terrorising the capital, Kyiv, and other big cities. Children are also involved in the production of these larger drones. Over the weekend, a documentary broadcast by the Russian army's television station showed teenagers helping to construct kamikaze drones at a factory described as the world's biggest maker of strike drones. Employing children in military facilities, which could be legitimately targeted in wartime, violates numerous international conventions. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The footage shown on Sunday showed hundreds of completed Geran-2 kamikaze drones in neat rows. The facility has been put on an EU sanctions list and has come under attack itself from Ukrainian long-range drones. The Geran-2, which has a range of nearly 1,000 miles, is an adapted version of an Iranian kamikaze drone, with production now localised in Russia at a factory in Alabuga in Tatarstan. Moscow claims it only uses these drones to target military and energy infrastructure but there are regular cases of them hitting civilian and residential targets. Russia's state-run Zvezda TV channel said the Alabuga factory had invited 14- and 15-year-old pupils to study drone manufacturing at an adjacent college and subsequently work at the factory. Young workers were shown in the footage with their faces blurred, sitting at computers or assembling drones. Children contacted by the Insider also spoke of working inside military facilities: one explained how, aged 13, he had trained soldiers in drone operations inside a state facility in 2022.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Ukraine launches new points for killing Russians scheme
The images come in every day. Thousands of and equipment being hunted down along Ukraine's long, contested front lines. 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But after three and a half long years of grinding, all-out war, the system has another vital use."It's also about motivation," Fedorov says. "When we change the point values, we can see how motivation changes."Fedorov's office sports a huge video screen with dozens of live feeds from Ukrainian drones flying over the front the feeds provide a vivid glimpse into Ukraine's drone war, in which commanders claim flying robots now account for an estimated 70% of all Russian deaths and the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion, social media feeds have been full of drone videos, usually set to soundtracks of thudding heavy metal turret of a tank, exploding in a ball of flame. A lone soldier, fending off an attacking drone with a rifle or a can make for gruesome viewing. Each video celebrating the death of an opponent. The video going fuzzy as the drone beyond a sense of grim satisfaction, hard-pressed front-line units now operate in the knowledge that evidence of their exploits can bring them rewards. The BBC reached out to more than a dozen units to find out what front line soldiers make of the scheme. The responses were mixed."In general, my comrades and I are positive," said Volodymyr, a soldier from the 108th Territorial Defence Brigade. He asked us not to use his a time when frontline units are burning through equipment, especially attack drones, at a ferocious rate, Volodymyr says the e-points scheme is proving useful."This is a way to make up for what we lose… while inflicting losses on the enemy as effectively as possible."The 22nd Mechanised Brigade, currently fighting in the north-east of the country, has had about three months to get used to the new system."Once we figured out how it works, it turned out to be quite a decent system," said a soldier from the 22nd with the callsign Jack."Our lads are worn out, and nothing really motivates them anymore," Jack said. "But this system helps. The drones are provided through this programme, and the lads get rewarded. It's a decent motivation."But others are less convinced. "The fundamental issue of motivation isn't resolved by this," said a soldier who asked only to be identified by his callsign, Snake."Points won't stop people fleeing from the military."A soldier who identified himself as Dymytro sent us a lengthy response in which he complained that units were spending too much time trying to claim each other's hits or would deliberately attack a Russian vehicle that had already been disabled, in order to earn more Dymytro, the whole concept seemed morally dubious."This system is just a result of our twisted mental habit of turning everything into profit," Dymytro complained, "even our own damned death."But the e-points scheme is typical of the way Ukraine has fought this war: creative, out-of-the-box thinking designed to make the most of the country's innovative skills and minimise the effect of its numerical says 90-95% of fighting units are now participating, providing a steady stream of useful data."We've started receiving quality information and making decisions based on it," he says."By collecting data, we can propose changes, but the foundation is always military strategy." In an anonymous office block in Kyiv, we met some of the analysts whose job it is to pour over the footage, verify each hit and award points to the unit were asked not to reveal the location or use real names."We have two categories: hit and destroyed," Volodia told us. "So a different amount of e-points goes to the different categories."It turns out that encouraging a Russian soldier to surrender is worth more points than killing one – a prisoner of war can always be used in future deals over prisoner exchanges."If for one… killed Russian you get one point," Volodia said, "if you capture him you multiply it by 10."Volodia's team analyses thousands of hits every day."The hardest part is artillery," he said, showing us a video of a drone navigating expertly through the trees and into a trench where a gun is concealed."The Russians are very good at hiding and digging."As Russia's tactics have evolved, so too has the e-points increased use of small, probing units, on foot or riding motorbikes, means that the value of an individual soldier has risen, relative to a tank or other armoured vehicle."Whereas previously the killing of an enemy soldier earned 2 points," the Brave 1 statement read, "now it earns 6."And enemy drone operators are always more valuable than the drones system of rewards is being refined now, units have been able to convert their points into cash, which many have used, along with crowd sourcing, to purchase badly needed extra the e-points system is being directly integrated into something called the Brave 1 Market, which designers describe as "the Amazon for war".Soldiers can browse more than 1,600 products, use their accumulated points, purchase items directly from manufacturers and leave reviews, with the Ministry of Defence picking up the tab 1 Market is designed to sit alongside traditional, cumbersome military procurement, rather than replace it. The hope is that units will have quicker access to preferred items, from drones to components and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that can evacuate wounded soldiers from dangerous frontline for kills. Amazon for war. To some ears, it might all sound brutal, even this is war and Ukraine is determined to hold on. By fighting as effectively, and efficiently as it can.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Reuters
Ukraine offers its front line as test bed for foreign weapons
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