DRONES Part Four: Personnel and Drones, by GuerrillaLogistician
DRONES Part Three: Air Force Development, by GuerrillaLogistician
Reference – D4
By GuerrillaLogistician
@glogistician on X.com
How to defeat drones
If the Enemy can’t find you, they can’t hurt you. – TM 5-267 War Department
Principles
- Detection of Drones is king
- Personal camo is extremely important; every piece of kit should be colored correctly, and proper litter attached
- Guillie-style suits won’t remove your signature, but can help confuse the enemy
- Groups of soldiers are easy targets; diffuse and disperse as much as possible
- Moving out of cover will get you killed if someone is looking. Stay away from lines of drift
- Any obstacles can save you from trees to buildings
- Shooting at a drone is your last desperate resort
Someone a long time ago made an excellent point: no matter how capable the device is, it is the operator who ultimately determines its success or failure. One of the key principles I learned about canine tracking is that you don’t necessarily have to outsmart the dog, which is nearly impossible; if you can confuse the handler or throw the handler off, you have a chance of escaping. Although I think the submarine reference is probably a better comparison than a canine, I want to cite the idea of defeating the operator, since that’s primarily what you will be doing. So let’s think about the submarines of WWI and WWII for a second and how they effectively evaded attack from various enemies.
The submarine’s primary strength was its ability to be concealed in an open ocean. Many submarines were fitted with anti-aircraft guns to some effect, but in reality, most aircraft could drop munitions on a submarine with little risk. There isn’t enough space in a submarine to put enough anti-aircraft guns to be genuinely effective, and it was more of a token effect and morale boost than anything. This is such a key point that most submariners’ initial reaction to spotting anything in there was to crash dive. Later on, during the Cold War, it was noted that several submarines carried man-portable anti-aircraft weapons, such as the Igla and Stinger, on board. We never saw the effects of this system, and I’m not sure it was even a good idea, but I’m sure it made them feel a bit safer.
Soldiers face the same issues as submarines: they can be spotted from the air and attacked from above. Yet soldiers can’t easily dive into the ground and swim away; they can, however, dig trenches and fortifications. I suspect that much of the trench work came from static lines, artillery bombardment, and drone activity. You will also note that the evolution of underground trench lines and bunker systems has now become far more concealed, rather than open-top, as we saw in WWI. With reconnaissance drones able to accurately bring fire to a trench line, it became paramount to hide these trench systems to protect soldiers from indirect fire. Then, with drones flying overhead, the trenches became even more concealed deeper in the earth, and special vestibules of chain-link fence or netting were installed at entry points. Much like the Vietnam-era tunneling system, these trenches could go in any direction, allowing only attacks on locations that were visible. Then we saw entryways concealed with shrubbery and bushes because the drones were moving through the trees, finding these openings and attacking them. So, going under the surface of the ground as a submarine diving does work, but you still can be attacked via drones flying in like a homing torpedo or your emplacement being shelled to death (depth charges).
https://x.com/WarHunter2222/status/1992601312496886182?s=20
Drone attacks on Artillery
The evolution of warfare in Ukraine went from standard Russian mobility to static lines and then trenches, with artillery being flung back and forth. Many think that Drones in this conflict were a recent development, but Drones were used in the border conflict during 2014, and bombs were released in 2015 in limited use. During that time, the effects existed, but they weren’t as prevalent as they are now. Also, other groups have been using drones in other wars as well. We will primarily focus on Ukraine because of the speed of its advancement; it isn’t the only war we have seen using drones, though, so keep that in mind. The reason the drones have this job is the inability to keep large indirect-fire weapons systems operational during this conflict. That said, the ultimate goal is to defeat the troops. You can’t just defeat forces as you would back in the Civil War era or even WWI.
People don’t rush out in large droves to attack the enemy like they once did from trenches or stand in formations like war used to be conducted. The rare exception does happen, and it usually ends in tragedy, now being filmed by all the drones flying around. That said, casualties persist, and a lot of effort goes into taking out personnel as much as into taking out vehicles and larger weapon systems. One reality is that many man-portable weapons can defeat large armored vehicles, not just drones. There is a video of Ukrainians defending against APCs and tanks with nothing more than man-portable rocket-propelled munitions. During the initial phases of the war, this was one of the reasons Ukrainian forces ultimately pushed back the Russians. That said, nowadays most troops on both sides use the same tactics because it’s the only way to engage one another effectively.
WEEKLY DEATHS from the Ukrainian side of the conflict
https://ualosses.org/statistics
https://x.com/WarMonitorClips/status/1857492818052395126?s=20
Delayed explosion of a drone flying into a trench from a non-concealed trench entrance
https://x.com/ianmiles/status/1795900647096676710?s=20
Russian bunker system, along with wasted propaganda aesthetics
https://x.com/GeromanAT/status/1899500626654253226?s=20
Open trench and its vulnerability by recon and assault
Enemy Observation
Regardless of what this article is really focusing on, everyone needs to remember that observation can come from both the air and from the ground. This has been absolutely true since World War I, and it became very well defined in World War 2 and beyond. While past wars relied on observation through photography and physical observers, the modern system has been updated to be faster and more detailed. One of the key principles discussed was always to observe both your camouflage from the ground and, if possible, photographs from the air. Nowadays, with the simple task of flying a drone, you can check your ambush points in little time and verify from multiple angles if your concealment is good enough. Regardless, you need to become familiar with the different look of things from the ground and from there, and remember that hostile observers will use every asset possible to find you.
Concealment
I don’t wish to dive too deeply into this because it is a topic unto itself, but one of the key failures of most concealment is failing to check the background of your position. Your background is your concealment element as an individual, and it governs where you should be and absolutely where you shouldn’t be. This is also important with thermal imagers; knowing your background heat patterns can help you hide among other items, but if the contrast looks off, it can get you killed. One of the key mistakes is creating contrast along with the human silhouette, which is evident to most people quite quickly. Add to that: avoiding movement is your next step toward good concealment when someone is looking your way. The human eye is very good at seeing the movement of anything, far faster than it is at recognizing the form of something. Make sure you use shadows appropriately, keeping yourself in them when appropriate, but also make sure your background isn’t lit up as you cross through a shaded area. Your silhouette and your weapon silhouette will always expose you.
You stick out
One of the key issues with concealing the head stems from the fact that both helmets and Boonie caps accentuate the human form far more clearly than one realizes. Not only does the helmet have the rounded shape of a head and the proportional size, but it may also be colored poorly for your environment. While many soldiers will remember the fabric covering on many helmets, most do not take the time to add foliage to them. Many helmets in World War II were both painted and equipped with netting for soldiers to attach natural vegetation; if that wasn’t possible, burlap straps dyed or painted could be added as well.
Another thing is your skin and Beard color. Most people have a lighter complexion than their surroundings, and even those of African descent may stand out in environments where they don’t match. Adding things to disrupt your face, like camo paint and netting, can change the facial features the human eye easily recognizes. This continues to the rest of your equipment, which could be solid color or pre-camouflage patterns. One of the worst things to happen to the modern prepper is the high cost of camouflage patterns and the lack of people willing to destroy them to make them more effective. Many of us think, well, we will do this when we have the opportunity, but we never do, and time is fairly short when things become kinetic. Unlike the average soldier, many of the weapons can be easily painted because you own them and won’t have to turn them back into somebody who will complain about the painting of a rifle.
Ending the Era of Mass assaults
One of the key tactics used by both the Russians and Ukrainians is the use of small infiltration forces, which have made the maps of the conflict erratic and not necessarily accurate. So much so that this concept of small forces has expanded to people running out on both sides with their flags to take photos that can be easily geolocated. These propaganda pieces have not only bolstered the morale of their own troops but also moved troops hastily away from areas they believed were under overwhelming enemy forces. That tactic was figured out fairly quickly, and the lines are no longer affected by it, but it still had its day in the sun. It’s always hard to tell in these situations what’s going on because so many small units are infiltrating in both directions over great distances while being attacked by drones, artillery, etc. This brings us to the first tactic to consider when dealing with a drone-heavy environment.
Little Groups Of Partisans LGOP
https://x.com/ug_chelsea/status/1994822115493908890?s=20
Rus SKAT-350 recon finding groups of Ukrainian forces to relay to artillery.
One of the fundamental tactics of any partisan unit has been its small force nature, pitting it against a larger force. These forces need to understand the capabilities and target, and understand when it is wise to retreat. Many ordinary infantry soldiers have a do-or-die attitude. They will push an objective that is either too heavily defended or not suitable for the forces opposing them. During this Ukrainian conflict, one key thing is apparent: no one is coming to rescue you. Mind you, a good partisan general will do everything in his power to rescue you, and I’m sure that is the case with most of the soldiers on the battlefield. Still, the reality is you can’t cluster up to do an effective force-on-force attack without being absolutely decimated by drones, bombs, artillery, and other such weapon systems.
Much like the partisan soldier, these forces have decided the better part of valor is to go in and chip away at the enemy forces when possible. This is part of the reason why the trench Warface fair system is such a horrifying place to engage in. Several units can defend trenches and remain semi-secure against many attacking capabilities, such as tanks, aircraft, and even drones, if done right. Small forces will have a near-impossible time getting into those trenches, and when they do, they may only breach in certain areas. This means random LGOPs would have a horrifyingly difficult time digging out a trench system without significant assets. The upside for an LGOP is its ability to blend in with the indigenous people. So what should we learn from some of these tactics?
https://x.com/SMO_VZ/status/1994131807814422555?s=20
Arty and Drone are working together to hit massed troops.
https://x.com/ThomasVLinge/status/1990093257309642902?s=20
Mymar drone detection of Infantry taking pics
No matter what you do to evade drone systems, it all comes down to some form of camouflage. With the nimble nature of drones, it is very hard to evade them once they lock onto you. Regardless of whether your camouflage is the paint on your gear, the hide you are under, or the EW that blinds the operator, the goal is the same: stay hidden. Each individual must learn camouflage for their environment before the onset of conflict. This should be done through training exercises, possibly with friends running drones and watching others. As I’ve discussed in other articles, camouflage doesn’t necessarily mean face paint or a specific camo pattern like Realtree. It could be something as simple as some subdued umbrellas in a Bush that hides a hobo from your sight, even though he is feet away from you. Not only do those umbrellas conceal, but they also mitigate a lot of the thermal bloom of a human person.
During one training exercise for an urban escape-and-evasion course, two individuals decided to disguise themselves as hobos. One of the hallmarks of this tactic, which was pressed into our minds throughout the course, is strict adherence to your pattern of life. This means you should strictly adhere to the camouflage principles of the environment you’re in. These two cops, head-to-toe, almost looked perfect, but when they were travelling through a seedier part of the neighborhood, pushing a cart full of supplies, their brand-new sneakers stood out more than anything. It made several people in the area apparently very nervous, but it quickly piqued the hunting team’s interest as they watched the pattern of life change drastically as these two men moved down, and the shoes gave them away.
Stay Hidden Civilian Style
A little Grok interpretation of the cache tactics
So the first tactic available to any resisting force is to go about in civilian clothes. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to carry machine guns and go crazy on the enemy. The average effective tactic for most insurgency fighters has recently been to cache weapons in various safe houses that are being safeguarded before a team sets up an ambush. One of the key elements of surviving an ambush is not to be there, but routine patrols catch people off guard. The weapons are retrieved, they’re shot at the enemy, and whether successful or not, the insurgents leave the area quickly. They then cache the weapons for others to pick up and move later. The IRA was notorious for using women to transport weapons across the country, and I’m sure that was no different in the Middle East as well. Even though various counterterrorist measures can defeat this tactic, it is a fairly good way to operate in urban areas. The reality is that this is probably the only way you’ll be able to do anything in a city, if that is even possible. Unlike drones over the woods, cities can have cameras almost anywhere, and the technology to find wireless cameras exists, but that doesn’t mean every single one will be acquired.
IRA from the 1980s, armed to fight.
Luckily for most Western societies, many of these cameras are designed to work on cellular networks, both to cost the government more and to keep companies like Flock in continuous income. Cities will likely be among the most difficult places to verify that drones are physically active, since other devices operate in the same frequency range. Still, with enough SIGINT and by learning the pattern of life of those signals, you can be far safer. Another key facet of being in a city where civilian clothes will be your primary means of concealment is that people on your side will help you escape. Unlike rural wooded areas, attacking someone who’s actively fleeing could cause casualties that may incite more resistance. One of the most amusing things I have seen is criminals being chased by helicopters equipped with thermal imaging systems. What you really see is that some criminals are smart enough to evade the police by using structures and diversions to lose the trail of both pursuing officers and the helicopter. The same can be done with drones, as we have seen repeatedly in Ukraine. This tactic works best in large urban areas and in complex overhead clutter, such as trees and overpasses, that lead into urban environments. These drone systems and the thermals on them aren’t necessarily the most crystal-clear, unlike many aircraft-based technologies we see. If a street thug with below high school level awful education and some luck can lose the tail of multiple police officers and a helicopter, you can do the same thing with a little bit of training and some forethought.
Stay Hidden Camo Style
https://x.com/414magyarbirds/status/1940441839712223740?s=20
Infantry Hiding Poorly from Overhead
There are several classes for camouflage, but in this regard, you have both your heat signature and your concealment to deal with. People in the woods are not naturally chameleons, but they can camouflage their gear, skin, and weapons to blend into the environment. Too many people are very conscious of the value of their equipment to the point that they refuse to make any modifications to conceal themselves. They refused to paint black rifles or spray paint their $400.00 pair of camouflage pants. They will forget to tie things down and make sure things are silenced for stalking the woods. Old men sometimes forget that their white beards, although natural to a human, stand out starkly in certain times of year and with certain backdrops. This is generally an issue for military-age males, but it can affect older people as well. It is also an obvious defining feature of a man that can get you spotted later when you return home. People will bring phones that glow brightly at night in their pockets so they can look at ATAK and use mapping programs.
So many of the little details that are so important to people hiding are quickly mitigated by laziness and fatigue. During the current conflict, it has been well documented that many forces are moving in small groups of no more than four people to infiltrate the other side’s lines. Dozens of small groups may do this infiltration along a length of contested woods or towns. But the tactic is to keep their profile low as they move. One of the key aspects that comes along with this drone stuff is the belief that thermal optics can see everything on a battlefield. One of the worst things about Ukraine is that it has a lot of open space and not much cover between them, making thermal systems extremely deadly. If you piggyback the thermal systems onto an optical system, you can quickly perform the find-and-fix part of F3EAD. Change that up and start putting scrub brush everywhere or tree lines in hilly terrain, and this becomes a more difficult task for the drone operator than one might think. One of the key advantages of working in places like Iraq and Afghanistan is the lack of trees, and even then, insurgents were capable of hiding themselves in everything from caves to terrain, along with the population.
TM 5-267 Camouflage principles
https://x.com/414magyarbirds/status/1940441839712223740?s=20
Attack on infantry in a very open wooded area.
Lines of Drift
https://x.com/Reevesity/status/1790008206887952637?s=20
Troops following footpaths while being watched, Lines Of Drift
Anyone who’s taken a Brushbeater course understands the concept of lines of drift. To dumb it down, lines of drift are the natural flow of people along a particular pathway. In woodland environments, these can be much more obvious to observers and should be appropriately concealed. Lines of drift can obviously be detrimental to a partisan moving in the open with firearms. As you can see above, the path taken may be concealed, but it may be more challenging to traverse, whereas the easier path might run out into an open field. As you can see in many of these videos, many troops get caught on easy-to-travel paths. Some take it because they are fatigued, and others take the fastest path because they aren’t aware of the dangers above them, and the beaten-down path is so obvious to an aerial observer.
Much like the Nazis did to the Dalmatians, Yugoslavians, etc, random attacks on easily traveled areas, especially with a hostile population, ended up being quite common. This hasn’t changed between the Russians and the Ukrainians at all, and both nations are well known for not only attacking enemy soldiers who are no longer combat capable, such as casualties, but the civilian populations as well. So not only do you have to think about your travel to and from operational areas, but you also need to consider the dangers involved in these movements. Easy trails will get you killed in the woods, and as seen, enough trails can create paths that can be mined or ambushed on. One thing you do have to think about in the urban environment is that, if you are not in an active engagement, those lines of drift can sometimes be concealed from a partisan. That will be something we’ll try to get into a little bit more later. The video below shows that repeated Lines of Drift expose Drone Operators and their hiding place. Easy travel paths quickly turn into beaten ground.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1336946594481529
Drone spying on Drone Operators
Regardless of the specific techniques for the environment you’re operating in, the reality is that the concealment concept remains the same. One must keep vigilant not only of his own camouflage but that of his friends, because the result of a mistake in wars is too final for anyone to mess up even once. Everyone involved must practice camouflage and adhere strictly to the principles to the point that they become instinctive. If, for instance, you are fighting in a wooded environment, make sure every item that you have is painted and concealed from the magazines to the boots; every item must blend in with the natural environment. Just as the basic concepts of World War II have proven, you must address what you’re wearing against the terrain you’re on, the time of day, and where the enemy is. One of the key principles taught was to use the shade of trees to hide your position from an overhead aircraft perspective. While some of this is negated by the fact that there are thermal optics, a lot of this can still be practiced, depending on which direction you expect the drones to come from. Those trained in scouting, patrolling, and sniping have all been trained in individual camouflage techniques.
Much like most of the Scout and Recon courses from brushbeater and courses from various individuals, this can be taught to just about anyone with time. Many of the concepts are very simple: avoid sharp, regular lines. Always choose irregularly edged concealment in cities, preferably in shaded areas. When in buildings, stand back from windows a good distance, using the room’s natural shadow to conceal yourself and minimize your thermal signature. When in relatively open terrain, such as deserts, try to stay close to the shrubbery to avoid observation, but also fire over the grass and shrubs to prevent dust and debris from kicking up. Also, avoid rocks unless they offer the only concealment; a rock hit with a bullet tends to shatter. Make sure your use of shadows is consistent with the environment you’re in and with what’s behind you. Many people don’t look backwards to check on their rear view as much as they should, which brings us to never crossing the crest of hills in the open, which should be obvious. One interesting thing is that during the summer months, the thermal bloom from the day can make spotting soldiers with thermals far more difficult than with the naked eye.
Remember the fact that nighttime is still not a blanket of concealment. Many people think the shadows of the day correspond with the darkness of the night, but this is not true. With all the modern technologies we have now, we can see better at night than we ever have before, but that doesn’t change the fact that humans could see at night before all this new technology. One key drawback of drone technology is that daylight optics don’t work well at night, so they mostly run on thermals. Just as in the day, moonlight and the shadows that are cast can set you up to conceal or be exposed. Thermals also can’t see through as much tree canopy as many think because of TV and other such nonsense. Those shrubs that give you concealment from the mark one eyeball also give you some concealment from thermal imagery. Regardless of the eyeball looking at you, light, independent of the spectrum, generally follows the same pattern. That said, certain things are see-through to the human eye, like glass, where thermals cannot see through glass. So, at night, it may be more advantageous to stay concealed in dense brush or in buildings with their windows covered when thermals are at their greatest threat. Window coverings may just be old blankets nailed up, blocking the view into the room. Below is a specific thread about how the OPFOR during a training class used a thermal drone to try to find the students, only to be ambushed by those students they thought weren’t in a specific area because of their camouflage practices.
https://x.com/Brushbeater/status/1982927804154163534?s=20
Opfor is getting smoked after using a thermal drone to search for ambushes.
Thermal Suppression
https://x.com/Trotes936897/status/1974613509054054853?s=20
Specialized thermal camouflage
https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1892626030281556431?s=20
Thermal cloak on the move
There are several ways to mitigate thermal imaging. I won’t go into every detail because this is taught specifically in basically every www.brushbeater.com NCScout course and in anything https://tactical-wisdom.com/ Joe Dolio produces. Both individuals are far more sophisticated with this information and produce far better information publicly than I care to dive into. Having talked to both and learned from both, I would say they have excellent capabilities in teaching this, and they both consistently hunt down their students with thermals. There are multiple steps to doing this kind of thermal mitigation, but the reality is that all you need to do is confuse the operator. This is the hallmark of all camouflage, whether it is thermal or just some Joe with a mark 1 eyeball looking for you in the woods. If they can’t figure out what they’re looking at or don’t distinguish you from the background, you will be hidden, and you will be safe from attack for the most part. I am partial to the stalker-style ghillie suit. These suits tend to favor hotter climates and reduce a lot of the wear and tear on the soldier.
As time passes, these suits will start to glow with your heat signature if improperly built. The downside of these is that they also tend to expose a much larger portion of your body’s heat signature than a full ghillie suit. As shown in the photos of the full-body leafy-style suit, it better separates the soldiers from the background than the standard standoff suit. While not 100% capable of concealing soldiers, these strips of fabric, potentially treated with both paints and other thermal-mitigation materials, help break up the pattern and reduce the apparent body-heat signature. Remember, we aren’t capable of being a perfect bush without extensive effort, but confusing the operators will be sufficient. The thermal mitigation suits are very similar to how suppressors work when you think about it. The suit itself isn’t going to prevent your thermal signature from ultimately bleeding through without absolutely causing a heat stroke. Think of the leaves and material as baffles that both draw your body’s heat away and mitigate direct viewing. These systems are obviously never going to be perfect, but they can sometimes mitigate your signature enough to prevent you from being completely exposed. They tend to be much hotter than average uniforms, and the second step of personal thermal camouflage is far more effective. Overall, though, many of these clothing choices have seen mixed results, and when you break other rules, they almost become annoyingly obvious.
https://x.com/markito0171/status/1981307072932196539?s=20
A group of Russians in thermal cloaks spotted and attacked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXmR9ZMi-ow
Thermal blanket testing video
Joe Dolio routinely posts sales on very good thermal blankets that have a camo layer. At the time of writing, his old post surfaced again. These are now a staple of most medics because the standard Orange or reflective blankets are getting people killed even if they are out of the fight. His blanket has worked for 4 years and has not flaked or fallen apart yet. Specifically, all of the aforementioned trainers teach you to blend in and to prevent you from being easily seen. They also mitigate ground-based and aerial thermals in their training program, teaching about the standoff required to prevent your thermal energy from slowly transferring into your hide. While this will be discussed in much greater depth in future articles, understand that thermal mitigation for the individual may come from both clothing materials and small personal hides that can be quickly established. Many clear plastics and glass materials will also mitigate thermal propagation if there is enough ventilation to cool the surface. While not a good material to hide behind visually, this is a good choice in the thermal spectrum; just about anything can be used to block your signature. Realize that any shape you have out there, and flat surfaces, can be partially seen in thermals, so breaking up that texture, as the photos above show, does help prevent people from seeing something odd.
https://x.com/DolioJ/status/1880232855080694032?s=20
Joe Dolio’s choice of thermal blankets for the field
https://x.com/Brushbeater/status/1982927804154163534?s=20
Opfor is getting smoked after using a thermal drone to search for ambushes.
Regardless of the individual camouflage you put on, and I highly recommend the very hot stalker suit due to its thermal mitigation properties, the hallmark of all this is stay the hell out of sight. As you can see below, small arms, even with the new technology that is being presented, are inadequate to truly defeat these drones by individuals at our current technological level. While there are cases of drones being shot down by personal weapons and shotguns, the reality is these things move far too quickly and have far more abilities to duck and dodge than most soldiers have the skills to hit a moving, flying object with a rifle round. While people are trying to advance ammunition to give soldiers more opportunities to defeat these drones, this should always be the last line of defense because it probably won’t work. I think most of these new munitions that the Russians, Ukrainians, and now other nations are producing will be better suited in machine gun platforms than specifically issued to individuals. We may see such technology advance alongside grenade launchers, but time will tell. Overall, the last thing you want to be is a man running for his life in the middle of an open field with absolutely no cover. No matter how good his camouflage skills were, they don’t work in fields, and that is why we see so many God awful videos of both sides killing each other in fields and sparsely populated tree areas.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/674371171912452
A Russian Soldier in the open attacked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQvBZKsdAAc
Drone ammo
Weather
The weather can also be a key component in drone operations, giving the individual far more capabilities to operate against the enemy than they normally would. One thing you will learn being a soldier is rain sucks, fog sucks, and snow sucks. Anyone who’s an American soldier will probably hear the phrase, “embrace the suck.” These environmental factors can mitigate the drone’s ability to see, including fog if thick enough, which many think you can just see through with thermals, but that isn’t always the case. Rain can also deter many of these drones from flying, simply because of the exposed electronics inside them and the devices’ quick production. Modern military drones seem not to have an issue with rain, but it can still preclude your observation if you are smart and follow the basic principles above.
This also goes for snow, but it comes with other issues, like your thermal bloom from vehicles and infrastructure you may be hiding in. That is a whole other topic in its own right. The Russians attempted to use fog to do a Mad Max-style penetration of the Ukrainian forces, which probably would have worked if those same Russians hadn’t posted a video of what they were doing. That video, which got snatched up fairly quickly, was geolocated, and opposing forces ambushed those Russians. If the weather sucks for you, chances are it will suck for the drone as well, including cold weather, which can reduce battery capacity. Anyone with batteries that have operated in cold weather understands they need to be kept close to the body for warmth to allow the chemical reaction to actually begin.
https://x.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1988126678858473734?s=20
Russians moving in fog.
Staying safe through detection
Ukrainian company Ares acoustic drone detection system
We’re aware of the methods you use to evade drone detection. The reality is that you need to detect the drone before you can do anything. One must be able to maneuver and fight with the enemy without constantly being relegated to a specific position. The best way to do this is to detect the drone in any of the available fashions. We will go over a few known detection methods, but for brevity, I want to focus on the ones that don’t seem to work very well first, then move on to the better stuff. Some of these tricks might advance, and you should be aware of them and see how these technologies are progressing. While interesting and a definite advancement in technology, networked cameras that detect odd drones by geolocating the cameras and correcting aberrations observed by the cameras are possible. The problem with this is that most drones are small and can be flown very slowly, and the system not only will detect birds as drones but is also almost ineffective during nighttime operations. And then if the drone is flying low enough, ground clutter, just like radar, makes it nearly impossible for this system to work.
WWI and WWII acoustic aircraft detection systems.
This brings us to radar, which can also detect drones, but the small size and the materials used to make drones tend to be very radar-absorbing, making them hard to detect with most radar systems. If the drone is high enough, this becomes a little easier for radar systems to detect, but it’s still not foolproof, especially given how drones are being used in combat these days. This is probably one of the military’s major go-to technologies, but as of now, it’s one of the least effective. Another tactic is using thermal imagers, but with most drones having low daytime thermal signatures, it is almost impossible to spot them until they’re extremely close. Much like the camera systems that have been developed, these thermal optics tend not to perform well until the evening, and even then, have a difficult time spotting most reconnaissance drones.
Much like the bombers of the past, the larger drones are much easier to spot with this technology, but because they’re built from materials that can still limit detection, they still pose a threat. Lastly, I’m going to bring up the detection capabilities of acoustics. During World War 2, many militaries used acoustic detection systems to detect bombers from fairly long distances and triangulate their positions. These acoustic systems are generally used at night and farther away from cities. Then searchlights would be turned on for the final acquisition of the bombers. There are technologies right now that do similar things with better microphones and more capable processing to remove background noise. However, they still have an uphill battle, both in noisy urban environments and because many custom-made drones don’t fit the pattern the software is looking for.
Micro Doppler
https://x.com/MehdiHacks/status/1952480002630410617?s=20
Micro Doppler effect
There’s also another tactic for determining whether these drones are in the area: the micro-Doppler effect. To dumb this down as best as I can, which may not be fully accurate, the micro Doppler technique is basically a passive radar system that can be done on the Kraken system. You basically use a signal, such as FM radio, and listen for it to bounce off the drone, but scientists are now using the effects of that bouncing radio wave and the unique characteristics of how a drone looks to identify it versus other objects. The simplest thing, such as vibrations within the drone’s body, produces a specific pattern. This can be changed by the propellers, the materials they are made of, and the drone’s body. This means that with enough time and research, every mass-marketed drone can be detected, and we can guess which kind of drone is actually flying. This does require some technology that is technically common off the shelf, but a little high-end for your average citizen. Also, the research and the capabilities to do this are a bit beyond the reach of your average citizen, not to mention the ability to carry it easily. This technology does exist, though it’s technically man-portable, and I assume the military will have more of it than the average citizen.
SIGINT
SIGINT is one of the most important aspects of drone avoidance for individuals. Because so much of this technology is line-of-sight, tracking these drones is fairly simple unless they are fiber-optic drones. Maybe the fiber-optic drones are operating in concert with other drones that are not fiber-optic or have a mission-specific task, such as taking out heavily defended artillery systems saturated with electronic warfare jamming. While it isn’t unheard of for a fiber-optic drone to attack personnel, it’s rarely done because the drones are so expensive. Along with this, many drone systems nowadays are using direction-finding like a homing missile, as stated before, and going after these electronic warfare systems. Several companies sell devices that use various RF detection methods to spot drone-specific communications. This may be as simple as watching the average bands the drones operate in, or looking for specific signal patterns to detect and, sometimes, capture video from these drones.
The optimal way to prevent these drones from killing you is to know they’re in the area before they can spot you. With the narrow focus of most drone optics and the ability to detect the RF spectrum, it isn’t that hard for infantry soldiers to detect these systems beyond the wire, including the guided ones noted above. If you have some warning, you can find cover and concealment from these drones and prepare yourself. This also allows you to move from location to location, as the drones move in and out of the area. As stated above, with the weather and the cold, this may give you quite a bit of opportunity to maneuver without a reconnaissance drone always on station. Some of the techniques for drone detection in signals intelligence are very basic but still effective for most of us. Simple devices such as those made by Colonel Panic Tech can both detect drone signals and collect much of the data from drones flying around. These small devices can be easily carried in gear and range from simple detection to more sophisticated information that can be downloaded or viewed on a small tablet. https://colonelpanic.tech/
https://colonelpanic.tech/ is designed to detect the wifi bands of common drones
This technology can also be used to look up flock camera systems, as a side benefit of their wireless nature. Still other technologies exist, and some focus-based radio detection systems, like those sold at www.Brushbeater.store, are purpose-built and can be set up to detect specific bands. Devices like this can be sent to different frequencies and prevent spurious detection from background noise. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces use similar devices to detect drones regularly and have also been using them inside aircraft, such as helicopters. While not new, this technology is extremely robust and doesn’t rely on picking up specific Wi-Fi bands like the above product. That said, this comes with a higher price tag for the average citizen and should be viewed as an investment. These small radio receivers are designed for field use, unlike the last choice, which has been pushed into service in the field by both Ukraine and Russia.
https://brushbeater.store/products/handheld-detection-system
The tinySAultra has been modified in both software and other ways to operate in the field as part of the drone detection system. While the ones sold in America do not have these modifications, it is not that difficult to find information on how this was done and do these modifications yourself. That said, these devices are more fragile and generally require an exterior case to protect them from both the weather and average wear and tear. They also have limited battery life, so you have to connect a battery to keep them operational while in the field. Personally, I prefer the versatility of the tinySAultra, but there are some limitations on how fast the device can receive multiple bands at once. This slows down the refresh rate, which means detection can lag by up to a few seconds on this device, unlike the one above, which is much more capable at notifying you when something is around. Especially without the modifications to the device, you have to watch the screen instead of the above devices, which will give you an audible or vibratory alert when something is in the area.
https://brushbeater.store/products/tinysa-ultra-spectrum-analyzer
https://brushbeater.store/products/vigilante-engineering-tinysa-ultra-case?_pos=1&_sid=9164a3255&_ss=r
TinySAUltra case for field use (note the above image is from VE, and the BrushBeater store sells the updated design, but hasn’t updated the image)
LUCK into tactics
https://youtu.be/4YAJlFiJD0A?si=WEU25c_PME6KH48p&t=668
Russian Drone misses Ukraine forces.
https://x.com/distant_earth83/status/2002360826120806891?s=20
Russian forces on foot having near misses with a HUK attack
Sometimes luck plays a part in not getting killed. Maybe you move a few feet, or just the right thing happens where you survive, and others don’t. As deadly as FPV drones are on the battlefield, they do take skill and do miss a good bit, which might be why the 70-90% drone loss rate exists. Let us examine what Askalon Industries and its owner, Louis Saillans, have to say about what he has seen in 5,000 videos. By his stats, 67% of all drone attacks are survived when the person is in a wooded area or in buildings. He notes that these drones are designed for speed and detonation, but they are not effective at collision avoidance. I would even say that a lot of casualties of drones on people are often near-miss strikes that injure instead of kill. Flip that around, and there is a 92% death rate in open fields, which, unfortunately, is a great deal of what Ukraine has to offer in this war. So many people lose their lives in open areas, with rare exceptions, as I had noticed as well, but Louis Saillans points out. When faced with smoke, drones miss a lot more. He reports a 32% increase in survival when confronting drones. This is because the vast majority of HUKs rely on conventional cameras, as thermal sensors can see through most smoke screens, but the cost of such cameras makes them prohibitively expensive to attach to a one-way drone like a HUK. The success of this is usually accompanied by people retreating into dense forests or urban environments. Shout out to this guy and his work on the subject.
Jamming
As with the systems discussed in future articles, Jamming can be performed by individuals in the field. Portable devices such as the Portahack, which incorporates a HackRF and an onboard computer, can both Jam frequencies and spoof GPS signals. The downside of these is that their weak signal strength requires amplification. That said, teams can carry devices such as the Titan systems, which both detect and jam unwanted guests in an area, but these devices are proprietary to the military, heavier, and far more capable. GPS spoofing has gotten so bad that many drones can’t use that feature at all to naviagate reliably
Shooting at Drones the last line
https://x.com/GloOouD/status/1906636745556250909?s=20
Drone attacking a person in field who is shooting at it.
While there are several videos of people shooting at drones and actually hitting them, the techniques used to shoot down drones are limited at best. Shooting at drones has basically limited effect because of their quick maneuvering capabilities and the humans’ limited interaction in shooting flying targets. Minus some people who do a lot of skeet shooting, firing, and maneuvering a drone, especially 1 not going in a typical pattern of a flying bird, can be difficult, if not impossible. Many companies are trying to forge new ammunition for this specific task, but the problem comes down to one having that ammo in the chamber, ready to go for it to be remotely effective.
Even if you do have that ammo in the chamber at the time, actually hitting these targets can be a troubling task, if not near impossible. With all the other options above, it is best to deal with the drone before you’re in the open and trying to use kinetic projectiles to destroy a fast-moving small object. That doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, and much like the conversation previously about this system of defense, it can bring some relief to the soldier who has absolutely no way of combating these otherwise. However this should not be something that we rely on to defend ourselves because of how difficult this truly is. Even with things like shotguns, defeating these drones can be a roll of the dice at best, and without a heavy enough shot to actually damage the drone, things like birdshot may not even do enough damage to prevent the drone from striking you.
https://askalonindustries.com/
F3EAD is an acronym that stands for Find, Fix, Finish, Exploit, Analyze, and Disseminate
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
About the Author: Patriotman
GUNS N GEAR
