Drone Dogfight Over Ukraine

Video from Ukraine shows two quadcopter-style commercial drones ramming one another mid-flight, in the first instance of real air-to-air combat involving the small, remotely-piloted craft.

The footage was filmed by a Ukrainian drone and shows it approaching a DJI Mavic, a small commercially available quadcopter, presumably used by Russian forces. An impact occurs and the Mavic can be seen cartwheeling, with its parts flying away, having likely been struck by the attacking drone’s propeller.

https://youtu.be/be73Jtbxcho

The footage is the first instance of a small commercial drone engaging another one of its kind during the war in Ukraine

The video was originally published by a Twitter account belonging to Ukrainian journalist and influencer Serhiy Pritulawho earlier organized a successful crowdfunding campaign to acquire Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 combat drones for Ukrainian armed forces.

The text in the Twitter post said that the attacking drone was another Mavic. The model, which is widely available for purchase, is popular with both Ukrainian and Russian armed forces as well as various volunteer and paramilitary formations participating in the war.

The World’s First Drone Dogfight was staged by Motherboard  in 2015

Sources: YouTube: Twitter

 

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