Ukraine Modifies Domestic UAV Into FPV Strike Drone ‘Aircraft Carrier’

A video posted on the “All things Communication” Telegram channel belonging to the Ukrainian electronic technology specialist Serhii Beskrestnov, best known under the pseudonym “Serhii Flash,” showed how the Ukrainian designed and manufactured Dovbush T10 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been modified to carry and launch up to six first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones.

In another example of how Ukraine has embraced drones and drone technology, the changes on show here have enhanced the value of the Dovbush, which was previously used as a reconnaissance platform, to act as a precision strike tool in the war against Russia.

The video shows the UAV in flight searching for a target. Once one has been identified, it releases one of the FPV drones to attack the target. A separate video image shows the FPV video stream as it moves to engage and hit the target (a partially hidden SUV).

Examination of the video shows that the FPV drones are suspended upside down under the wings of the Dovbush, using the explosive weapon it carries as an “adapter” between the larger UAV and itself. This not only ensures that the FPV drone remains securely attached during flight but enables it to be precisely deployed once a target is identified.

The Dovbush T10 has a 40-kilometer (25-mile) range and is said to contain software and other equipment that make it resistant to Russian electronic countermeasures and enemy air defense systems. It employs both an inertial and a GPS/GLONASS based navigation system which is also resistant to jamming. Its low-noise electric motor combined with the use of “stealth” materials make detection in flight even harder.

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In its “aircraft carrier” role, the UAV retains the high-resolution optical, infrared vision, and other sensor systems when used as a reconnaissance vehicle that allow it to detect camouflaged targets at long distances. This, coupled with secure long-range communication system, allows real-time data and video transmission to ground operators.

The drone is also said to be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) software that facilitates target analysis and automatic identification.

The underwing FPV kamikaze drones are also equipped with electronic warfare (EW) self-protection systems resistant to Russian radar detection and jamming and can carry a range of explosive payloads that include armor-piercing, thermobaric or thermite. On deploying the FPV drones, the Dovbush acts as a communications relay platform allowing the smaller quadcopter drones to be operated over a longer distance than if in stand-alone mode and for the results of strikes to be confirmed.

Mass production of the original Dovbush T10 began in December 2022, with funding provided by Volodymyr Yatsenko, co-founder of Monobank. Output is up to ten units a day and even more impressively the UAVs are supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces free of charge.

The next stage of development for the Dovbush will be to arm it with its own air-to-surface munitions, allowing it to directly engage targets and also to extend its operating range with the ambitious aim of giving it a 1,000 kilometer (625 miles).