The Russian Airbase at the Latakia airport in Idib province was attacked by a mini swarm of 13 drones which were launched from more than 50km away.
This looks like a first ever event, the first of what will probably become a near commonplace event in the future.
https://www.sciencealert.com/swarm-home ... ussia-uavs
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Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
salttee wrote:The Russian Airbase at the Latakia airport in Idib province was attacked by a mini swarm of 13 drones which were launched from more than 50km away.
This looks like a first ever event, the first of what will probably become a near commonplace event in the future.
https://www.sciencealert.com/swarm-home ... ussia-uavs
That is some of the more creative reporting I have seen in a while… Given the article is a lift from and authored by The Drive’s Tyler Rogoway we can see the click bait nature of the title and the poor interpretation of the facts.
I consider a “swarm attack” as one where all the UAVs were communicating, or could communicate, with each other, which certainly wasn’t the case here. The UAVs were independently launched and guided themselves to the target. That is frankly no different in concept to the ~57 tomahawks that were launched at a Syrian base last year. It also probably cost the Russians more money and effort to shoot them down with the Panstir-S missiles than the destruction they may have caused.
Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
I don't know who Tyler Rogoway is, he isn't the story. The story came from the Russians, I don't know of any challenge to its veracity. If you don't want to see the significance in this event, so be it.
I'm sure that you're correct, about the Panstir's, but to me that just adds icing to the cake. The point is, this was the first time this type of attack was tried; you can be sure that it won't be the last time you'll hear of swarms of homemade drones being used, and the technology will keep getting better. IMO, this is a milestone event, one for the record books.
I'm sure that you're correct, about the Panstir's, but to me that just adds icing to the cake. The point is, this was the first time this type of attack was tried; you can be sure that it won't be the last time you'll hear of swarms of homemade drones being used, and the technology will keep getting better. IMO, this is a milestone event, one for the record books.
Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
salttee wrote:I don't know who Tyler Rogoway is, he isn't the story. The story came from the Russians, I don't know of any challenge to its veracity. If you don't want to see the significance in this event, so be it.
Tyler writes a lot of stories that can be defined as click bait. Flashy titles that don’t match to the contents.
salttee wrote:I'm sure that you're correct, about the Panstir's, but to me that just adds icing to the cake. The point is, this was the first time this type of attack was tried; you can be sure that it won't be the last time you'll hear of swarms of homemade drones being used, and the technology will keep getting better. IMO, this is a milestone event, one for the record books.
I don’t doubt the attack occurred, I doubt the proclaimed significance.
How do you define swarm to make this attack any different from for example the Tomahawk attack I referenced?
When I read Swarm and UAV, I consider the following,
UAV Swarming / swarm intelligence is a field of robotics research. Using appropriate software, our aerial robots can ascend synchronously, communicate with each other in mid air and create cross-references. Fixed formation group flights and complex acrobatic group flights are thus possible.
UAVs flying in cooperation can create networks, transfer information, transport, or dance. They can be used as mobile radio stations or WLAN transmitters in regions lacking infrastructure or for spectacular air shows for marketing campaigns – to this date, knowledge about the usefulness of this technology is primarily theoretical, and it has not really been implemented yet. The AscTec Hummingbird is swarming world champion and holds the existing record with 60 synchronously flying systems.
http://www.asctec.de/en/uav-uas-drone-a ... /swarming/
Look at this video of a USN test of a swarm of UAVs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjUdVxJH6yI that all communicate and operate together. That is what I consider a swarm of UAVs,
If we look at this attack on the Russian base, the UAVs weren’t controlled by remote operators, they weren’t talking to each other, they were set on pre-programmed courses with a final end point, essentially one GPS location to another with, perhaps but I doubt it, some terrain avoidance. How is that any different to a Tomahawk missile or a volley of such all launched at the same time?
Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
The difference is that the USAF has assets worth many billions, while these guys were using high school type technology and were able to threaten the most heavily guarded location in the country and get away with it. Not only that, but they made the other guy expend a covey of very expensive missiles.
You're a defense industry employee, your POV says it wasn't really a swarm as you use the word. But on the street, in the villages, it was a swarm. And to the duty officer at Latakia that night, it was a swarm. I also will point out that if one or more got through the defenses, you can be sure the Russians wouldn't tell us that.
But the significance of this is that it is a harbinger of the future. And every wannabe guerrilla on the planet is now on his way to a hobby shop.
You're a defense industry employee, your POV says it wasn't really a swarm as you use the word. But on the street, in the villages, it was a swarm. And to the duty officer at Latakia that night, it was a swarm. I also will point out that if one or more got through the defenses, you can be sure the Russians wouldn't tell us that.
But the significance of this is that it is a harbinger of the future. And every wannabe guerrilla on the planet is now on his way to a hobby shop.
Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
When you regret retiring your AAA vehicles. Shilkas or Gepards would work well and be much cheaper than missiles.
Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
And they are gone.
Sorry, it's in Russian. To sum it up, Russian Special Forces took the guys responsible and the "stores" of drones out in the past few days.
https://www.rbc.ru/society/12/01/2018/5 ... 56f1339e2a
Sorry, it's in Russian. To sum it up, Russian Special Forces took the guys responsible and the "stores" of drones out in the past few days.
https://www.rbc.ru/society/12/01/2018/5 ... 56f1339e2a
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Re: First-Ever Drone Swarm Attack
Very interesting version. If you take this publication at its word, the hell opened its gates and unleashed all it had upon that airbase. Let's see, the article contains the following:
a) the perimeter of the base is poorly defended, and mortar attack successfully took out some valuable equipment
b) a coordinated drone strike, with drones based on advanced technology, provided by advanced nation-state actors, destroyed more valuable equipment
Now the article links to other sources, and there are photos of drones, clearly looking like high school/garage projects.
Very interesting that such a variety of threats was unleashed in a mere week against a single target.
a) the perimeter of the base is poorly defended, and mortar attack successfully took out some valuable equipment
b) a coordinated drone strike, with drones based on advanced technology, provided by advanced nation-state actors, destroyed more valuable equipment
Now the article links to other sources, and there are photos of drones, clearly looking like high school/garage projects.
Very interesting that such a variety of threats was unleashed in a mere week against a single target.