• Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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    8 days ago

    Ukraine will emerge as the largest west-aligned weapons manufacturer in the world, their drone warfare and modern battlefield innovations are second to none at this point.

    I remember when the war started looking at the switchblade drones on the news as this futuristic cutting edge weapon, then the first mavics with zip tied grenades and mortar shells appeared and now we have seen just insane advances in radio controlled, fiber optic controlled and completely autonomous drones, from short range to extremely long range, drone carriers, submersible drones, wheeled gun rc vehicles, it’s insane.

    I bet you anything that Ukraine either has or is planning a nuclear weapons program to acquire their own nukes. They have the scientific and engineering capacity, as well as the resources for it.

    • ladicius@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Drone warfare in Ukraine got public and somehow popular with the Bayraktar from Turkiye. Still have that tune from one particular video in my head.

      • Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Yeah the Bayraktar was pretty amazing early on, today though ukraine is pumping out thousands of smaller drones for a fraction of the cost to cover pretty much all use cases from human targets to armored and heavily armored targets, drone to drone air defense, you name it, with the added benefit of them being basically impossible to intercept at a long range.

        Still, major props to Turkiye for those, they made a huge difference in the early stages, along with Javelin missiles destroying Russian armor columns

        • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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          7 days ago

          The Bayraktar was a major reason for the Russian invasion. Ukraine got those drones around 2020 and they were absolutely devastating in the Donbas and was putting Ukraine on pace to end the insurgency there.

          What governments are all starting to realize is that the big flashy weapon systems that cost $1.2million per use are useless in a peer combat situation because the damage done doesn’t scale with the cost whatsoever. Quantity almost always top quality in a prolonged conflict

    • Tuukka R@mastodontti.fi
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      7 days ago

      @Zer0_F0x @Sunshine

      Regarding Switchblades… It was also very important that within days of ZSU beginning their news, we read articles on how inefficient they actually are. That a 80 % cheaper drone does a _better_ job! They turned out to be unreliable, inaccurate and extremely expensive.

      That told a lot of western military industry in general!

      • Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        It’s the difference between a weapon designed to win a government contract with maximum profit margins vs a drone designed to fit a specific purpose and battlefield.

        One was built by necessity, the other by committee.

      • Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        It could happen the other way around is what I’m saying.

        Ukraine demonstrating a nuclear device and a missile capable of carrying it will dramatically change how agreeable everyone becomes to negotiations lol