Video Offers Rare Documentation Of An "FPV" Multirotor Drone Breaching A Structure
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Anyone interested in the implications of armed “first-person video” (“FPV”) multirotor drones of the fiber-optic communication uplink/downlink variety must confront the fact that there are many plausible use cases for which there exists little, if any, publicly available documented real-world footage. This notably includes the employment of such armed “FPV” multirotors to undertake attacks inside buildings. I discussed two such cases in recent posts:
Russian "FPV" Multirotor Drone Strikes Against Kherson Thermal Power Plant Highlight Scope For The Surgical Targeting of Fixed Infrastructure Sites
Viewing so-called “First Person Video” (“FPV”) drone footage from the Russia-Ukraine War is often a quite sordid affair. There are, however, several “genres” of “FPV” drone footage that are not only more palatable to non-sadistic audiences by virtue of not (directly) injuring or killing any human beings but by offering a window into the new options—and …
Another Documented Case Of A Fiber-Optic Multirotor Drone Being Used Inside A Building
One of the most consequential possibilities afforded by the advent of armed “first person video” (“FPV”) multirotor drones of the fiber-optic—as opposed to the radio frequency—communication uplink/downlink variety is the ability to operate these uncrewed aircraft-turned-munitions indoors/inside buildings. Documented cases of the employment of armed “FPV…
The video featured in the first of the two above posts features the use of armed “FPV” multirotor drones to breach an opening into the main building of a thermal power plant so that another armed “FPV” multirotor drone of the fiber-optic communication uplink/downlink variety could fly inside and target the critically important electricity generation machinery. It is worth noting that said particular video suggests a fairly lengthy time interval between the breaching of a sufficiently large gap and the flight of an armed “FPV” multirotor drone through said gap. The video featured in the second of the two above posts is recorded inside a building, but does not show how the armed “FPV” multirotor drone entered the building. A recently released video, however, shows the use of an armed “FPV” multirotor drone to breach an opening into a structure by dismantling a section of protective netting so that two armed “FPV” multirotor drones of the fiber-optic communication uplink/downlink variety could enter the structure in rapid succession. This video reportedly records a Ukrainian attack on a structure occupied by Russian forces.
As I explained in a recent post (the second of the posts linked above):
Incidents such as this documented attack are likely to become increasingly commonplace as armed “FPV” multirotor drones of the fiber-optic communication uplink/downlink variety are built and deployed by both Russia and Ukraine in ever-increasing numbers. Such armed “FPV” drones can be flown inside buildings and even underground. As of this writing, I am unaware of any publicly known documented case in which such armed “FPV” drones have been flown inside buildings to target personnel. It is important to keep in mind that this may reflect the sensitivity of such attacks and military censorship rather than the absence of such attacks in the Russia-Ukraine War. It is worth noting that most of the publicly available footage of armed “FPV” drone strikes from the Russia-Ukraine War has been very selectively disclosed as part of public relations, propaganda, and information warfare efforts. (emphasis added)
The footage seen in the above video is notably a mobile phone recording of a monitor displaying what appears to be security camera footage. The footage recorded by the cameras installed on the three Ukrainian armed “FPV” multirotor drones used in this attack has not been publicly released as of this writing and may never be. Even so, this video attests to what is and is not in the realm of possibility given extant technology. In an ideal world, serious military analysis is not undertaken by mindless empiricists who work not from first principles but cling to documented real-world use cases. As things stand, however, observers primarily encounter publicly available analysis on the effects of technological change undertaken by mindless empiricists. Such videos help chip away at the prevailing intellectual status quo as it concerns the implications of the evolution and diffusion of armed “FPV” multirotor drones of the fiber-optic communication uplink/downlink variety.