1/ QUICK THREAD based on an interview in an article below with an operator of a Ukrainian heavy R-18 multirotor drone. Main points below:
2/ "Our main product is the R-18 bomber. We started back in 2016, and it was a scout, but it turned out to be so powerful that we realized: it can carry quite a lot of shells."
3/ "And at first it was used against infantry, but then the operators realized that it is much more effective to strike heavy equipment. And this is now its main feature."
4/ "Our R-18 drone carries three large armor-piercing cluster bombs. It is noteworthy that most Russian military equipment is built with strong armor only in front and on the sides. And from above the armor it is very thin..."
5/ "Sometimes our R-18s are shot down. I have lost two large drones since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. I lost one completely, and the other flew back, but it was in such a condition that half of it needed to be replaced."
6/ "But the threat is not only for the drone, but also for the operator? Of course. But sometimes you realize that you worry more about the drone than about yourself. When the shelling starts and you need to lie down somewhere in a trench, and you have a drone in the air..."
7/ "...and you wait for the drone to come back. You take a risk, because its loss is very painful financially. Honestly, and morally, it is already like a comrade in arms who works with you in pairs."
8/ "What about small drones that do not carry projectiles? If it is small, it will not be able to fly far. These are suitable for observation, when the military enters a city and needs to see what's around the corner, behind the fence. Small drones can help."
9/ "And our drones, from which we bomb, fly 10 kilometers deep, and the deeper they fly, the greater the possibility of losing them, because the Russian air defense system works."
10/ "By the way, the Russians don't spare very expensive missiles, which can be ten times more expensive than a large drone. We have this opinion that they simply make a report saying they shot down a "Bayraktar" or something else. And they get a medal for that..."
11/ "When we manufacture new products, we consider radio frequencies and anti-EW concepts. We bypass the enemy EW tactically and technologically - if there is an EW system, then we do not fly there. Let's put it this way: it makes the job more difficult, but not impossible."
12/ "In the 2014-2015 war, the use of drones was much less. Now there are a lot of different drones. But it is worth remembering that the (enemy) cannot be destroyed by quantity, it must be destroyed by quality."
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