How small drones changed modern warfare
Small drones can have a big impact.
BY JOSHUA SKOVLUND | PUBLISHED SEP 22, 2023 6:07 PM EDT
With the current ease of access to social media, war has never been more visible worldwide than it is today. Videos of small drones carrying out devastating attacks targeting Russian personnel on Ukrainian soil have permeated popular social media feeds like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok.
However, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) can be complex, encompassing everything from large unmanned planes with massive payloads to small palm-sized quadcopters conducting reconnaissance in hard-to-reach areas. Small drones come in various models, from top-of-the-line drones the US Military has to quadcopters right off Amazon or your local Walmart’s shelves.
What is a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS)?
Simply put, a sUAS is a small drone. Each drone typically has a camera, four rotors, and a remote control. Depending on the model, of which there are several different types, each drone can have variable ranges as low as 50 meters up to as far out as 20,000 meters.
The US Military has used drones of all sizes for decades for reconnaissance and surgical strikes. The types of drones many Americans saw in the news are fixed-wing Reaper or Predator-style drones capable of devastating surgical strikes on an intended target with low collateral damage.
https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/small-drones-military-warfare/
