A surprising Chinese product is playing a key role in Russia's war in Ukraine: a cheap, off-the-shelf drone made for hobbyists.
Ukrainians test Chinese-made DJI Matrice 300 reconnaissance drones in the Kyiv region on Aug. 2, 2022. The aircraft are part of Ukraine's 'Army of Drones' program. The Ukrainian Air Force is much smaller than Russia's, but Ukraine has been able to acquire relatively cheap, easy-to-use commercial drones for both reconnaissance and attacks. The DJI drones made in China are the most popular.
"What we're seeing is that there's a commercial drone market that has emerged. They're very useful to provide eyes on a battlefield," she said.DJI drones aren't made to fire weapons. But they can be easily modified to carry a grenade or other small explosive, which can be dropped with great precision into trenches filled with troops, or directly into the open top of a tank.
"Ukraine's been very successful in creating a strategic narrative to really keep Western support going," said Grieco."Part of that is showing that it's a viable adversary, that they have spunk, and a lot of that gets communicated with these drone videos."
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