Ukraine is one of the most developed countries in Europe in terms of the use of drones in industry, and there are up to 30,000 drone operators in the country who have experience in using UAVs. For some, these are one-time weekend flights, for others, responsible permanent work in peacetime.
In wartime, using drones without being authorized to do so, without being involved in the work of territorial defense or without serving is risky both on the part of the occupiers and the Ukrainian armed forces. Any unauthorized flight is a risk to the life of the UAV operator – the Ukrainian military may consider him a saboteur, and representatives of the horde – a ZSU intelligence officer.
If you have a desire to help, but you do not take part in the work of the military or the defense, donate your drone to those specialists who do hot work.
When using drones, you need to understand that you do not remain invisible – every second the drone emits radio signals that can be detected using electronic intelligence equipment, the occupier is very good at this.
In addition to the standard tools that determine the direction of the operator’s work, horde representatives have at their disposal decoders that allow you to determine the exact location of the drone and its operator, takeoff points and routes performed by the drone. We are talking about the Aeroscope equipment that the horde is armed with.
No matter what brand of drone you own, here are a few simple guidelines to keep you safe:
- do not take off from your unit location – always use a remote position
- do not use the same takeoff and drone control position all the time, if possible, use different locations
- put your mobile device into airplane mode during the flight (if you are not connected to the drone via WiFi connection) and disable the functionality of determining your position on your mobile device
- during the flight, move away from your takeoff point into cover while maintaining visual control with the drone
- before starting work and after finishing work, report this to the responsible unit in which you are performing aerial reconnaissance
- during the flight, be guided by the indicators of signal strength and the number of satellites in order to respond in time to the situation when REB will work against the drone
Observe safety and work only with the consent of law enforcement agencies, territorial defense or representatives of ZSU.
Valery Yakovenko, CEO of the company DroneUA
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