Weapons are exhausted in a long-term war… Increased use
Ukrainian Zelenskiy “Establishes drone unit”
Silent drones are effective in psychological warfare
A prominent role in the recent Middle East war
There is a weapon that stands out most recently in the war between Ukraine and Russia, which marks its second anniversary on the 24th of this month, and the Middle East war, which has spread beyond Israel and Palestine to the Red Sea, Lebanon, and Iraq. It is an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone).
Both Ukraine and Russia are actively using drones, which are inexpensive and capable of effective strikes, as they face difficulties in running out of weapons. The war in the Middle East also began with a drone attack by Hamas. Pro-Iranian Yemeni Houthi rebels who support Hamas are also paralyzing the Red Sea route with drones. Not only has its power been proven on the actual battlefield, but South Korea is also focusing on building a drone defense system as North Korean drones conducted reconnaissance flights over Seoul in December 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes in drones as a way to ‘turn the tide’ two years before the outbreak of war. According to Reuters, in a video speech on the night of the 6th, he emphasized the ‘speed war in the drone war’, saying, “I have just signed a decree creating a separate unit in our military called the Drone Systems Unit.” President Zelenskyy also announced in December last year, “We will produce 1 million drones by 2024.”
The reason drones are receiving more and more attention is because of their cost-effectiveness. As the war in Ukraine continues and weapons and financial resources are exhausted, it is decided that there is no weapon better than drones. A representative example is the ‘First Person View (FPV) drone’. It is named so because the pilot can look down at the ground from the drone’s perspective. When it finds a target, it gradually lowers its altitude, attaches to it, and explodes.
The British Economist reported on the 5th that “FPV drones are gaining a status close to a ‘myth’ on the front lines of the Ukrainian war.” Eastern Bakhmut’s drone unit ‘Achilles’ recently took down Russian heavy weapons worth millions of dollars with several FPV drones costing $300 to $500 (about 400,000 to 660,000 won). A simple FPV drone costs about $400 (about 500,000 won), but the Javelin anti-tank missile provided by the United States to Ukraine costs about $200,000 (about 270 million won), which is 500 times more expensive.
Drones are also perfect for psychological warfare. Unlike obvious artillery attacks, drones are ‘silent assassins’ that fly and attack without making a sound. Samuel Bendet, an advisor at the Center for Naval Analysis (CNA), explained to The Economist that drones are weakening the Russian military, saying, “The threat of drone attacks on the Russian front line forces troops to disperse and move in small groups under the cover of darkness.”
In the Middle East war that began with the Hamas airstrike on October 7 last year, the ‘drone war’ became more serious. In particular, in situations where precise attacks on targets are important to avoid large-scale escalation, drones are increasing the efficiency of attacks by targeting key figures in the opposing military. Middle Eastern sources said that Hamas deputy leader Salih al-Arouri, who died in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the 2nd of last month was also attacked by an Israeli drone.
The pro-Iranian Yemeni Houthi rebels, who have recently realized the power of drones and have refined their drone tactics, are paralyzing the Red Sea. The Houthis declared 2019 the ‘Year of the Drone’ and developed drones. NBC News reported that they are becoming more of a threat by using the tactic of crashing drones into targets like missiles and causing explosions.
Drones cannot be dismissed as a story about someone else’s war. Our military authorities established the Drone Operations Command as a unit directly under the Ministry of National Defense in September last year to respond to drone provocations, such as the incident in which a North Korean drone invaded Seoul’s airspace in December 2022. Last month, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik visited this unit and said, “Drones are a game changer on the battlefield,” and emphasized, “It is a weapon system that has proven its effectiveness in actual combat, such as the recent Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas armed conflict.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.