Went abroad, but ended up in air reconnaissance – “Abdula”, commander of the 3rd OShbr

“I was preparing to go abroad to the “hard enduro” motorcycle competition, I thought that it would happen. But here – the 24th, it starts [повномасштабна] war, and it just so happened that before that, in 2014-15, I also took part in the anti-terrorist operation,” the military man notes at the beginning of the conversation.

Friends repeatedly asked Mykola why he dared to go to the front. To which he always answered: the choice was made back in 2014, when he participated in the battles for Mariupol and Shyrokyne as part of the battalion and then the Azov regiment.

“Actually, this is just a continuation of that choice. Somehow I got there. I took the machine gun in my hands and left,” adds “Abdula”.

However, with the beginning of the great war, Abdulla changed his usual machine gun to a drone – now he is in UAV command. Yes, he says, he feels more efficient.

“If in 2014-2015 I was a scout, and the components that decided who was cooler – us or them – were optics, night vision devices, thermal imagers, for impression – sniper rifles. What is considered “childish” in this war , was effective then. In this war, everything is a little different, the means are different. Now it is artillery, drones, aviation, everything is much more serious,” the commander explains.

The direction of UAVs, the military man adds, is developing very rapidly. This, he says, – simply a revolution in the military sphere. Unmanned aerial technologies are an integral component of the modern army.

“You can name any type of military activity and add a reconnaissance drone to it and it will be better. A sniper plus a reconnaissance drone is better? Better. Artillery plus a reconnaissance drone. Engineers plus a reconnaissance drone. Even the search for KSP, when the service is looking for a base for a battalion, a brigade – a reconnaissance drone is needed there,” Abdula notes.

Drones that directly engage and drop munitions, such as FPVs, according to the military, – super innovation And although it is unlikely to completely burn the tank with a kamikaze drone, disable it and force the crew to flee – quite. And this is already a great result.

Another advantage of FPV is its “eyes“. That is, the brigade commander sitting, for example, in his station, can observe the battles and, accordingly, make better decisions.

“The whole war, any maneuver of the brigade begins with the decision of the commander, how it should happen. The quality of decisions increases many times. The tool for making these decisions is now in many respects the means of aerial reconnaissance, and defeating combat drones is in general an art has outgrown,” continues the aerial scout.

Admittedly, FPV vision isn’t the best at night. It is possible to install a thermal imager, however, how much will it cost and will it work at all, he says “Abdullah“, – unknown

“There are certain drones that work, like the big ones, I’ll call them that. Octacopters, hexacopters, or big quadcopters – they do a little bit of a different job. They’re not kamikaze drones, they’re reusable, more expensive than kamikaze drones, but they can do [завдання] precisely because of the defeat, and not as a scout,” explains the commander.

There is a need for such UAVs in the Armed Forces. We are talking about large drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras that are capable of hitting targets at night. One such, for example, – Ukrainian hexacopter “Volynyak“.

“I wouldn’t give up FPV drones either, a hundred or two. At least for this month, they would improve the situation a little from my plan of 1,500 units of use. I’m a little short for a month, it would be nice if they came from somewhere. If there is such an opportunity – to raise funds and purchase for the Terra unit for the 3rd OshBr – it would be very cool,” says “Abdula”.

Among the favorites “Abdullah“ – a drone “Thunder“. Its feature is non-standard size. “Thunder“ compact, but at the same time quite powerful, so it can “carry“ larger ammunition – two kilogram, for example. However, other drones, according to the commander, barely pull 1.5 kg.

“For example, thermobaric ammunition standard for RPG7, if everything is removed and disassembled, it still weighs 1.8-1.9 kg. Thermobaric anti-infantry ammunition is exactly what is needed,” adds Abdula “.

In addition, these drones are successful destroyers. It often happens that the drone is generally normal, but the blaster does not work. WITH “Thunder“ there were no such cases. It does not explode, but simply hits the target.

“I would advise the initial team to take Gromy. They will definitely work, maybe you can find something better, maybe not, but you will figure it out for yourself. You should start with something that works. This thing works, we manage to hit the targets with them.” – remarks “Abdula”.

It is a pity that there is still no standardization. In other words, the military receives different drones each time. Sometimes – frankly low quality.

“An intermediate option – something more or less acceptable arrives, but you have to “sharpen it with a file”. Move something somewhere, some module, solder something, add something. […]We must strive for it to be somehow standardized, and it is much easier for us when the crew has a drone of a certain standard, they are used to using it,” the aerial scout explains.

The first drones were bought by the military with their own money, later they were handed over by volunteers and caring businessmen who were approached. In general, the 3rd Armored Brigade takes care of its own support. The military is looking for volunteers, sponsors or, as they say “Abdullah“investors.

“In general, I believe that these are investors. They invest. And the result of these investments will be a normal country where the same businessmen can build their business,” the commander emphasizes.

The state also helps. However, this is not enough – with such a number, the military cannot carry out the expected plan. In addition, there should always be a reserve, which is out of the question now. Drones fly like hotcakes – instantly.

Also, says the military, there is a myth in society that FPVs are extremely accurate, so you don’t need a lot of them. In fact, it is not. For example, the 3rd Armored Brigade uses at least 800 drones per month at an average intensity of combat operations. At high – 2000.

Normal drone, continues “Abdullah“, costs $500. However, to the question “Should I kill two or three of these killers with a drone?“ the commander answers: “Certainly“.

“As humanists say, human life is priceless. That’s why we need a lot of drones, we need to use them, we should not be afraid to do it in any case. Because use is experience, experience is an increase in efficiency,” adds “Abdula” .

The commander calculates efficiency in his own way – in its pure form. What is important for him is not how many drones were used, but how many losses the enemy suffered. The crew, which sat all day and did not deploy a single drone, accordingly did not hit any targets. Instead, the crew, which used 10 drones, but hit at least one infantry position or vehicle, “Abdullah“ is proud

In difficult conditions, such as under Bakhmut, it is good when at least one in three drones hits the target. But it all depends on the situation.

“If the enemy is on the offensive, sometimes you can destroy the tank that is the heart of the offensive. The enemy infantry will get an imbalance when they see it explode, and the tankmen are running around on fire, and all this can disrupt the offensive. And this offensive could be key in the area or on the entire front line,” says the aerial scout.

Despite the fact that the UAV operator is a new profession, there are many experts in this field in Ukraine. Usually, these are people who are close to aircraft modeling, or those who just love it “to fly“ with camera It would seem that the military primarily needs those who like to shoot, but in fact, everyone has their own role.

“There are also those who learned in the war. In particular, this is the way of my unit – we learned in the war. There are also people who took courses and learned in civilian life.

I will talk about simple matters – a person wants to fight for Ukraine, but does not see himself in the infantry for one reason or another. Well, for example, it doesn’t pull on the physis, so what to do? They go to courses, study, master the newest tools of warfare and come. Of course, you can come without knowing anything and learn here on the spot. If a person really wants. And in war, motivation and desire are of primary importance,” Abdulla notes.

The commander is proud of his team. Since the beginning of the great war, the unit “Terra“ hit a lot of targets. He remembers how a T-90 tank was burned with an FPV drone. There are also many interesting stories. Somehow I managed to leave “run away“ first strike He says there was a mine there, it blew up a little, and the surviving crew jumped out. It had to be finished off, but the pilot made a mistake. “Abdullah“ shouted at him, because drones are not made of rubber, and went to the side to calm down.

“But it turned out so cool that the armor was standing like that, it seemed to fly in front of it, but the drone turned over in the last phase, and the cumulative jet hit right under the lower profile of the armor. I was excited, I think, I will not fight, I will go aside, sit and calm down . A soldier who was also standing with us, also from the 3rd OSHBr, my comrade, comes. He says, “Kol, don’t worry, everything is fine there, it’s burnt to the ground,” the soldier says, smiling.