At a workshop in western Ukraine recently, a group of novice drone pilots gathered around a table as a technician prepared a racing drone to carry a grenade to convert an aircraft located in stores of things. of hobbies in a weapons for war against Russia.

Two American businessmen, who came from the United States with a donation of a dozen similar drones, were watching.

Drones are a small part of unprecedented public response in response to requests from the Ukrainian Army for resources to help fight the Russian forces, which are better equipped.

“Importantly, we have a small drone hub here,” said a Ukrainian drone operator who asked to be identified only by his middle name, Oleksandr, for security reasons.

Oleksandr also requested not to disclose the location of the workshop.

“We are building and rebuilding drones for use in military, rescue and search operations.

In practice, many hobby drones come to life short.

“The enemy is attacking them, so some of them only survive a day or two,” Oleksandr said, referring to the fact that drones can be fired in mid -flight.

“But in those days, they had important missions. We were protecting ourselves.”

So is the group simplifies control drones and train the Ukrainian military to use them.

Amateur drones that come from the United States have a first-person view, meaning they have a camera that sends live images to a pair of mirrors.

With this, it was as if the pilot was in a cockpit.

The drones reach speeds of up to 136 kilometers per hour and Oleksandr mentioned that the pilots who fly them in professional competitions have been training for years.

Unlike the United States, where drone pilots must pass tests, in Ukraine actually they are not controlled.

“For drone enthusiasts in the United States, it’s almost impossible to do anything with military equipment,” said Chad Kapper, founder of Rotor Riot, whose holding company Red Cat Holdings has supplied 10 of the drones that delivered to Ukraine.

“The hobby thing is not regulated in a sense, so they can use whatever they can get.”

Kapper, a retired Marine with a YouTube channel, “Flite Test,” with 2 million subscribers, said drones like the ones he provided would fill the gap as Ukraine waits for more drones to with military-grade.

Kapper said he got involved after contacting Oleksandr, whom he knows from the international drone racing community, to find out how he works.

For Oleksandr and other Ukrainian pilots, technicians and engineers at the drone center, the effort is a continuation of the war that began in 2014 when the Ukrainian military sought help from civilians to compensate for the lack of equipment in their resistance to Russian aggression on the Crimean peninsula.

“Today, the Army calls me from different places, from different battalions and tells me:

‘Can you send more? We don’t have stock anymore, ‘”said Oleksandr, a peacetime organizer of sporting events.

Oleksandr mentioned that the drones carried by the Americans, each cost approximately $ 1,000 or morethey would be useful for a variety of tasks, such as carrying explosives, identifying Russian units, and engaging in artillery.

They can also be equipped with infrared cameras to locate and help rescue people in damaged buildings or forests.

“Nothing is illegal,” said a Tennessee businessman who helped buy and deliver drones on what he described as a humanitarian mission.

This person requested to remain anonymous out of concern for their safety.

“They ask for drones. What they’re doing to them is their problem.”

The narrative of this war showing a weaker country holding back a powerful aggressor and the specter of genocide in Europe resonated loudly among Americans and others around the world.

“After sending money, I just felt like I wasn’t doing enough,” the American businessman said.

“I have the resources and I have connections to this part of the world. Plus, I know I can make a difference by building and running a few things. to help including the supply of drones. “

Many of the drones were funded by a local aid organization that helps the military.

The American businessman, who said he contacted the Ukrainian military for help, said he would also do a charity for people to donate money to buy drones for Ukraine.

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