'Wait-mode drones' can remain dangerous for more than one day – Defense Ministry advisor 'Flash'

'Wait-mode drones' can remain dangerous for more than one day – Defense Ministry advisor 'Flash'

Ukrinform
Both on the front line and in the rear, so-called "loitering" or "wait-mode" drones are being used increasingly, and in power-saving mode they can remain dangerous for over 24 hours.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry advisor Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov reported this on Telegram,  according to Ukrinform.

"The use of 'wait-mode drones' on the front lines and in rear areas is becoming increasingly widespread. I won't describe our solutions – I'll show the enemy's. The physics is the same for both us and the enemy, so the performance indicators will be similar," he noted.

Beskrestnov provided the following examples: when reducing the power of the VTX (a video transmitter module on an FPV drone that sends a real-time video signal from the camera to the pilot's goggles or monitor), the battery of a loitering drone is depleted after 12 hours. If the VTX is switched off via a relay, after 17 hours the drone is still capable of taking off with a 2 kg payload and flying for 5 minutes. If all onboard electronics except the receiver are completely turned off, after 17 hours the drone can take off and fly with a 2 kg payload for up to 13 minutes.

Read also: New remotely controlled “camouflaged” mine found in Kherson

"Conclusion: on a standard battery, a 'wait-mode drone' in power-saving mode can remain dangerous for more than 24 hours," the advisor explained.

As Ukrinform previously reported, over the past week Russia launched up to 3,000 unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukraine.

While citing and using any materials on the Internet, links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory. In addition, citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet. Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No. 270/96-VR of July 3, 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No. 2849-Х of March 31, 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice.

Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421.

© 2015-2026 Ukrinform. All rights reserved.

Extended searchHide extended search
By period:
-