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Ukraine presented its new unit specifically focused on drone operations.
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The unit, called Typhoon, will focus on training soldiers to operate various unmanned systems.
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Typhoon will provide operational support to combat brigades.
Ukraine has announced a new military unit focused solely on drones.
The move underscores the continued dominance of unmanned systems in warfare and the need to train soldiers to master and adapt to the challenges of drone operations.
Last weekend, Ukraine presented the first details of Typhoon, a special operations unit within the National Guard of Ukraine focused on unmanned systems, at the Art Ukraine Gallery.
“The National Guard, like all branches of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, is also developing towards unmanned systems,” Lt. Col. Maksym Skylar, head of the unmanned systems department of the Ukrainian National Guard, told the state news agency Ukrinform.
“One of the steps in this development is the expansion of the unmanned systems units, namely a separate detachment that will perform its tasks exclusively with unmanned systems of various types,” Skylar added.
A video shared online by Ukraine shows members of the unit holding drones and wearing headsets.
Members of Typhoon’s team were also present to explain the unit’s plans, which focused on providing operational support to combat brigades and learning how to use the latest unmanned systems.
Mykhailo Kmytyuk, the unit’s commander, said that a major advantage of the unit was that soldiers were trained in operating various drones. Kmytyuk also called on desirable candidates, including gamers and engineers, to join the unit.
The specialized unit is being deployed as the drone race between Russia and Ukraine heats up.
Drones have been used extensively in war, whether by operators for reconnaissance or surprise attacks on tanks and unsuspecting troops. But electronic warfare—specifically, signal jamming—has devastated the effectiveness of drones on the battlefield, messing up the operator’s connection to their system.
Last month, evidence emerged that Russia used a fiber-optic drone in combat. The cable link was seen as an effective countermeasure to EW and signal jamming. Autonomous drones have also been used by both sides in adaptation.
But the adjustments are just the latest in a long saga as both sides develop new unmanned systems to maintain an edge. Experts and top war watchers have described it as a game of cat and mouse, stressing the importance both Russia and Ukraine place on developing new and effective drone forces.
Read the original article on Business Insider
