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Robots led Ukraine's counteroffensive
The operation ran in four stages, which is how it got its name. The unit in the Donetsk region trained for months and had to restructure its approach, since it had been defending until then and now had to go on the offensive. According to Ukraine, the push retook sixteen villages and caused thousands of Russian casualties, with minimal Ukrainian losses.
Robots faced down Russian positions, and remote-controlled explosive devices were dropped behind enemy lines, a first. From an underground command bunker, soldiers watched surveillance drone feeds. When a Russian reconnaissance drone swooped toward men crossing open ground, a second Ukrainian drone with a net slung beneath it hunted it down, dropped the net, and dragged it from the sky. On an average day, the unit faces ten such drones.
One group of soldiers came back after ninety-five days at the front, having moved positions four times. A soldier with the call sign Dealer described it as frightening when a drone flies straight at you. The offensive concluded before the announcement of restrictions on Starlink, the satellite technology all of this relies on, and without connectivity almost nothing can fly.
Why is the operation named after Vivaldi?
Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos, one each for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The Venetian composer published them in 1725. Each concerto has three movements and was paired with a sonnet describing the scenes of its season.
How can a net bring down a drone?
A net-carrying interceptor works by fouling the target's propellers. Once the net wraps around the rotors, they stop producing lift and the drone loses control. The interceptor can then tow the captured drone or let it fall. Quadcopters rely on four independently spinning rotors, so jamming even one removes lift from that corner.
Why can't drones fly without a connection?
Most small military drones are flown by a pilot watching a live video feed, and the control commands travel over a radio link. If that link is jammed or lost, many models are programmed to hover, return to their launch point, or land. Satellite internet such as Starlink can carry video and commands over greater distances than a short-range radio. Both sides in the war use electronic warfare, which floods those frequencies with noise to cut the link.
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