Last week, Ukrainian analyst Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov shared photos of a curious new Russian device: an FPV drone that carries a tracking camera and is attached to a bamboo frame. “Flash,” whose detailed technical wisdom has earned him more than 100,000 subscribers, has highlighted vital new developments.
The drone with a tracking camera sounds strange, however, this attached suit can next to a track and secretly send videos of each and every vehicle passing by for weeks. Built from affordable advertising components, it’s the kind of stealthy and efficient spy that American forces dreamed of.
Unattended ground sensors, or UGS, date back to the 1960s, when the United States sought to prevent traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main route of origin of the Viet Cong. Seismic, magnetic and acoustic sensors from the 1960s can detect the movement of nearby vehicles, but the generation of a video device did not exist. Thousands of sensors, each the length of a fence post, were launched under the Igloo White program from F-4 Phantoms, CH-3 helicopters and other aircraft.
The sensors were suspended on the deck or embedded in the ground, depending on the type. About 80% were functional after landing and had a battery life of several weeks. The sensors communicated with specially supplied aircraft that circled above us. Detection of successive pings when a vehicle passed in front of a series of sensors.
The aircraft passed the data to a 20,000 square foot data center in Thailand with state-of-the-art IBM 360/Model 65 computers, a type also used by NASA. Analysts pinpointed the location, speed and direction of travel of vehicles, and called in airstrikes to hit them.
Strike aircraft arrived three to five minutes after contact. The pilot never saw the target; they just flew over the target area and the plane’s computer automatically dropped bombs over the point that the target was calculated to have reached at its known speed.
“A major disadvantage of all the ground sensors was that none of them were able to visualize the target or transmit exact locations to the attacking aircraft up to the time of the weapon’s launch,” according to a report. “To fix this problem, a large number of bombs were dropped at every suspicious coordinate. “
Trucks destroyed on the Ho Chi Minh runway, many hit by the sensors of the Igloo White. . . [ ]
Igloo White cost a billion dollars a year and was presented as a triumph of technological warfare. Its actual effectiveness was limited. The program suffered a loss of credibility when the Air Force claimed to have destroyed more trucks than the North Vietnamese possessed. And supplies, including artillery and tanks, were still reaching the Viet Cong.
Even with a huge amount of support, the sensors available simply were not able to provide the information needed. Modern military sensors are far more advanced, and now the commercial world is catching up if not overtaking them.
Modern surveillance cameras began to appear in the 1980s with the arrival of motion sensors capable of triggering the camera shutter. They were movie cameras, but they provided hunters and researchers with a way to see precisely which animals were trailing and when. They were soon followed by infrared versions for night detection. These gave an unprecedented ability to see what wildlife was in a given area.
Infrared-lit surveillance cameras make it possible to track nocturnal animals like this one. . . [ ] Hedgehog
Digital cameras have reshaped surveillance cameras and store thousands of photographs and video clips. They were soon supplied with WiFi and, until 2007, surveillance cameras were able to send information to the mobile phone network. Costs have fallen; For less than $200, you can now get a camera that will take photos and videos, day or night, and send them directly to you. These are great devices for discovering what wildlife is lurking in your garden.
And, just as an affordable camera drone that can see over the hill or around the corner becomes a useful military tool, so does a cell phone-compatible trail camera.
Mobile phone modems have already been used in Russian drones, particularly in some recent Shaheds that use Ukrainian SIMS. They will most likely be used to send location information so operators know which drones are passing and which approaches are being defended; In some cases they can also recover photographs of targets.
Consumer trail cams capture better images in daytime but the night capability may be more useful.
Serhii Flash points out that on the trail camera drone, the antenna was not connected, so the unit likely would not have worked. He also says that the design of the bamboo is confusing; Possibly its purpose was to capture trees so the camera could look down from above, or possibly it would have been a stand that allowed the camera to see over grass or other vegetation. Manually placed trail cameras are fixed to tree trunks. or fence posts for elevation.
While sensors in the 1960s required a relay aircraft and a PC hub, the tracking camera delivered via drones uses existing telephone infrastructure. It would be conceivable to block all telephone signals in the combat zone, telephones are an indispensable piece of apparatus for troops on both sides and this can be impractical. New technologies, such as Starlink satellite communication equipment used on both sides for drones and other systems, are quickly becoming more affordable and would most likely upgrade cell phone connections if implemented. Unavailable.
Full image of the Russian trailcam drone
Instead of providing rough insights like Igloo White, the tracking camera provides a symbol to identify and locate the target. Gaming cameras have been used to monitor vehicle traffic, so an unmodified camera would likely be effective commercially. They generally reach twenty meters, but some long-range models reach sixty meters. The lenses tend to be wide-angle, so they may not capture much detail at this distance. The drone delivery formula allows the operator to locate a track or direction and position the sensor accordingly. With smart location, a tracking camera can also seamlessly monitor all activities.
And while the drone’s battery only lasts a few hours even when inactive, trail cams are designed to operate for weeks. Some have solar cells to operate indefinitely. The model seen here does not appear to have them, but even a day of information on enemy movements would more than justify the low cost of the operation.
Trail Cams can be used like Igloo White sensors, to prevent attacks on logistics vehicles using FPV drones. They could also be placed to monitor the effects of mines dropped by drones, so that immobilized vehicles can be destroyed and mined spaces cleared. They can monitor the trend of activity in enemy positions and note the number of troops coming and going, as well as when troop rotations occur.
Or it can simply be used defensively, placed in front of a position to stumble upon the technique of enemy troops seeking to infiltrate.
Trail cams may be easily spotted and removed – though the risk of booby traps can make this challenging – but they can quickly be replaced.
As with other advancements (drone-launched traps and flamethrower “dragon drones” that ignite tree lines with thermite), the drone with tracking camera shows how aerial mobility through drones can be combined with other technologies to produce impressive results.
If Ukraine doesn’t already have similar or more complex versions of the same technology, it will soon.