Ukrainian forces downed a Russian drone in flight using a special weapon
A video of the attack was released
Ukrianian drone operators reportedly downed a Russian ZALA frontline reconnaissance drone using an upgraded first-person view drone to attack the Russian wepaon and knock it out of the sky.
Another win for the 110th Mechanized Brigade
Soldiers from the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the 110th Mechanized Brigade downed the Russian ZALA drone somewhere south of the village of Mykhailivka in the Donetsk region according to the Telegram channel War Archive, which geolocated the incident from combat footage.
Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Footage of the incident revealed the attack
The press service of the 110th Mechanized Brigade published video footage from the drone's mission on the brigade's Telegram channel. The Ukrainian news website Militarnyi reported on what could be seen in the short combat clip.
Photo Credit: Telegram @rubpak
Drone operators chased down the Russian drone
"The footage captures a Ukrainian FPV drone ascending to a high altitude, chasing and eventually attacking the Russian UAV," Militarnyi explained.
Photo Credit: Telegram @rubpak
A Russian ZALA 421-16E was downed
"Upon closer inspection of the video, this drone can be identified as a ZALA 421-16E, a model frequently used by the Russian invaders for reconnaissance," Militarnyi added.
Photo Credit: Telegram @rubpak
An upgraded Ukrainian drone was used
The first-person view drone used by Ukrianian forces was outfitted with a remote-detonator fragmentation warhead, which allowed the operator to down the Russian ZALA drone once it was close enough to destroy it.
Photo Credit: Telegram @rubpak
Drone-on-drone fights are common in Ukraine
The downing of Russian reconnaissance drones in mid-flight has become a common occurrence in the skies above Ukraine. Militarnyi reported on a similar case that also happened in August and had footage of the attack released by the Come Back Alive Foundation.
Posted by the Come Back Alive Foundation
The Come Back Alive Foundation published video footage of a Russian Orlan-10 drone being downed by a Ukrainian first-person view drone that the foundation had donated to Ukraine's Defense Forces for the purposes of hunting and downing Russian reconnaissance drones.
An Orlan-10 was downed after it was rammed
Footage showed what the Come Back Alive Foundation said was a drone donated as a part of its Dronefall project spotted and then rammed the Orlan-10 while it was in flight.
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
The video footage revealed the incident
The video released showed the incident from the perspective of the Ukrainian drone and it began with the drone approaching the Russian Orlan-10 from above.
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
Was the Orlan-10 destroyed?
The Ukrainian drone quickly moved to smash into the Orlan-10 and appeared to run into its rear stabilizers before the video cut out. It is unclear from the footage if the Russian Orlan-10 was destroyed.
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
The downing happened over Chasiv Yar
The Ukrainian military news website Militarnyi noted the Telegram channel WarArchive determined the incident occurred somewhere over the embattled region of Chasiv Yar.
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
What is the Dronefall project?
Militarnyi also reported that the Come Back Alive Foundation’s Dronefall project began on August 7th, and it aimed to shoot down 1,000 Russian reconnaissance drones using modernized first-person view interceptor drones.
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
One brigade has downed 9 drones already
The 38th Marine Brigade was one of the first Ukrainian units to receive the first batch of interceptor first-person view drones from the foundation and has already shot down at least 9 Russian reconnaissance drones.
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
Hitting Russia in the skies
“The project involves not only the purchase of modernized FPV kamikazes, but also the creation and provision of teams that will use them,” Militarnyi reporters. “In particular, it involves the transfer of pickup trucks, communications, power, and night optics.”
Photo Credit: Telegram @savelifeua
Downing drones is a common tactic
Downing of Russian drones on the battlefield has become quite common according to Militarnyi because of the low speeds Russian reconnaissance drones operate at versus the higher speeds of Ukraine’s modern first-person view drones.
Photo Credit: TikTok @prizrak_fpv
A similar incident in July
In July 2024, video footage was released by TikTok user Prizrak_seti that showed a Russian Supercam S350 reconnaissance drone being downed by a Ukrainian drone somewhere in the Kherson region after it was rammed in midair according to Militarnyi.
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Photo Credit: TikTok @prizrak_fpv
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