Ukraine now has drones rescuing fallen drones from hazardous battlefields.

“Retrieving drones on foot was not an option because it contradicts their purpose—preserving lives. So, we decided to find a way to evacuate our drones,” said Vasyl Shyshola, commander of an aerial reconnaissance unit for Ukraine’s 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade.

Initially, his team experimented with a drone equipped with a release mechanism.

“But frankly, this plan didn’t work. The lifting capacity of the Mavic and the weight of a drone equipped with a battery were incompatible. We had to drop the hook because it got firmly attached to the drone,” Shyshola said, outlining the early failures that led to further innovation.

With time pressing and potential reassignment looming, the team couldn’t delay their efforts. “We took another drone and taped about two meters of rope to it, with a triple hook at the end made from grenade rings, which we regularly used against the enemy,” he described.

Their first successful recovery was a drone just 500 meters away, in a mine-laden area in front of the enemy’s former front positions, in fields mined with everything from anti-tank to anti-personnel mines. After locating the drone in the grass and determining the wind direction, “we made the first attempt to hook the drone by one of its legs,” Shyshola noted.

“But flying with such weight was very challenging, as the wind and inertia swayed the rescued drone in all directions. We managed to secure it and had to land along the way, but already in a safe place for us.”

Nonetheless, Shyshola and his unit were able to rescue 16 drones, 10 of which were completely intact, including six equipped for night operations. The six drones that were damaged and not working were sent to volunteer organizations to repair.

- Euromaiden Press