Comment by jdietrich

DJI drones are ubiquitous on both sides in the Ukraine conflict. They have excellent cameras and long flight durations, which make them an ideal aerial observation platform. The battlefield is a very different place if you can't hide behind terrain and have to assume that if you can see the sky, then you can be seen by the enemy. These drones have drastically improved the effectiveness of conventional artillery, because you can seek out targets and get real-time reports on exactly where you shells are landing. Consumer/prosumer drones are vulnerable to jamming or being shot down, but they're also cheap enough to be essentially expendable. Ukraine are reportedly losing 10,000 drones a month, but that's a bargain for what they achieve on the battlefield.

DJI drones fitted with grenade-dropping mechanisms have been used extensively and still see some use, but DIY FPV drones are now the preferred offensive weapon, used in a kamikaze role as a kind of cheap guided missile. They're cheaper, faster and more agile than the DJI drones. A good FPV pilot can hit the weak spots on a moving tank, or fly through a narrow opening to hit troops sheltering in a bunker. They're invariably used with DJI drones in hunter-killer teams, with a DJI drone acting as a spotter for an FPV pilot.

The sound of a DJI drone is known to everyone on the front line and it means exactly one thing - that you need to find hard cover now. If you can hear it, then chances are that it has spotted you, the pilot has passed on your coordinates and a kamikaze drone or an artillery shell is already flying towards you. If you ignore it or take pot shots at it, then you're gambling with your life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjsemcB7I9o (subtitles available)