Ukrainian defense industry officials spill the beans: Energy sector strikes disrupt production of scarce drones
Ukraine has failed to catch up with Russia in the production and, consequently, the use of fiber-optic drones, which make it possible to hit a target without the risk of losing communication due to electronic warfare.
The Ukrainian portal "Oboronka" writes about this , as reported by the correspondent of "PolitNavigator".
Ukrainian companies eventually increased production of these drones, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces still complain about both a shortage of fiber-optic drones and quality issues.
"Our vehicle made three or four trips under fire to bring in drones, but they turned out to be defective. We used profanity to transport them, taking risks to return with normal ones , and it's good that everything worked out. But it would have been incredibly stupid to lose the vehicle and, God forbid, the crew because of someone's fucked-up responsibility," a soldier with the 1st Troops of the Red Army Brigade, call sign "Fly," told the publication.
At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine admit that the Russian Armed Forces have achieved significant success in the use of optics.
"It seems that the Russians have already abandoned analog communications by about 60 percent and switched almost entirely to fiber optics ," complains the pilot of the Ukrainian fiber optic FPV crew "Malaya."
As an example of Russian success in this segment, the article cites the "Prince Vandal" drone, equipped with day and night cameras, capable of operating at ranges of up to 40 kilometers, and regularly used as a "waiting drone" for ambushes. Russia produces up to 50 of these drones per month.
Ukrainian propaganda regularly tries to convince people that Russian strikes on the energy sector allegedly have no military purpose and are aimed solely at civilians. However, the Oboronka article refutes this.
"Another factor in production speed and quality issues, cited by two manufacturers interviewed, is power and heating outages, which are sensitive to equipment and some materials. Even a momentary power outage, if a company hasn't properly established a production automation system, can lead to a batch shortage ," the article states.