The Ukrainian training center “Dronarium” in the last week of July once again trained 37 drone operators to participate in combat operations to repel Russian aggression. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, this school has trained more than 500 experts in aerial reconnaissance. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) and the Ministry of Digital Transformation intend to establish a systematic supply of drones to the army and train specialists in their management.

The main task is to save the life of the military

For the first time in the history of modern warfare, remote combat operations using unmanned aerial vehicles have become a priority in combating the Russian Federation’s armed aggression in Ukraine. The director of the Dronarium training center with the callsign Prometheus said in a conversation with DW that he sees his main task as saving the lives of the Ukrainian military and training them to carry out combat missions effectively. “We train the elite of our army. In capable hands, drones “live” at the front for 2-3 weeks, in inept hands they fall from the first flight. Therefore, our task is to teach the military to fly, perform tasks and return these “birds,” explained Prometheus.

At the same time, he is convinced that even a drone that has crashed in battle saves the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. “If the drone was already lost on the first flight, but covered the group’s retreat and saved the life of at least one soldier, then it had already” repelled. “If this drone crashed on the first flight, but it saw a tank that we managed to destroy, then it has already ‘recaptured’ itself, because they are things of incomparable value – a human life and the cost of a drone,” said Dronarium’s director.

Graduates of the drone control course are full of optimism and inspiration. One of them, with the callsign “Taran”, is said to have mastered this art “from scratch” and is now in a hurry to apply the skills acquired up front. “I gained even more confidence and realized even more that victory will be ours and it will be soon,” said the soldier. He said he learned how to control drones, recognize enemy territory and adjust artillery fire.

Another drone operator school graduate with the call sign “Psych” is a border guard. He can’t wait to return to his section of the Ukrainian border and track down the offenders. “I gained tremendous experience even though I had never worked with a drone before. There are a lot of nuances to this, you have to practice, practice and practice every day. But now we have reliable ‘eyes’ on the border,” the military said.

“Drone Army”

Dronarium teaches you how to control civilian drones that are not protected from the effects of enemy electronic warfare (EW) stations. However, it is these drones that are most often used on the front lines. Even civilian drones, according to instructors, are capable of performing aerial reconnaissance and aiming artillery at targets in combat conditions, they say at Dronarium. These devices can fly 10 kilometers deep into enemy positions, transmit a video signal in real time and also transmit it to the headquarters.

Mikhail Fedorov (left) and “Prometheus”

Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who came to speak with Dronarium instructors and their graduates, said he was striving to provide the army with such a large number of drones that it would be enough for the entire duration of hostilities. “Having 10,000 of these little drones on the frontline every minute along the entire frontline. Today, the Ukrainian Armed Forces buy a lot of drones. Volunteers have done an amazing job, they find and buy drones all over the world” said Fedorov .

Lack of operators at the front

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Transformation have initiated a large-scale “Drone Army” project aimed at securing systemic supplies of reconnaissance and attack drones for the needs of the Ukrainian army. Fedorov said the aim of this project is to ensure the readiness of not only the first, but also the second and third lines of defense with reconnaissance drones, ready to fly every minute.

Presentation of “Dronarium” certificates

He said that under the Army of Drones project, 600 million hryvnias have already been collected and contracts have been signed for the supply of several hundred professional military drones. But today the biggest problem is the rapid training of the operators of these aircraft.

The director of the “Dronarium” said that the school now has several training centers across Ukraine, each of which trains 30-40 fighters a week. “We teach the guys how to carry out combat missions, we have the practice of tactical games, search for different objects, orientation, we teach them to fly in EW zones”, said Prometheus. The authorities announced their desire to unite the efforts of all these schools and establish a systematic purchase of drones for the army and its repair base.