How military and civilian DJI drones are used in Ukraine – Special

Military, and civilian DJI drones are used extensively in to frustrate the advance of enemy Russian forces.

Not only has the Ministry of Defense called on owners of civilian drones to use their devices for combat, but there are also plenty of attacks with Turkish-made military drones.

Here are the latest developments.

Use of civilian DJI drones

Ukraine’s defense ministry has asked residents of Kyiv who own civilian DJI drones to help stop the Russian invasion.

Trained drone pilots are asked to join a brigade that monitors enemy movements. Drone owners with less flying skills are requested to hand in their drones so that experienced operators can use them.

The ministry posted the appeal on Facebook last Friday, a day after the Russian invasion began.

Civilians were hastily mobilized for battle. In doing so, the use of modern technology, including civilian DJI drones, is not shunned.

“Do you have a drone? Then give it to an experienced pilot! Or do you know how to fly a drone? Join the joint patrol with Unit 112 of the Kyiv City Special Brigade!” the Defense Ministry wrote. “Kyiv is our home, defending is a common task. Kyiv needs you and your drone at this difficult time! #StopRussia”

Drone pilots are asked in which city district they are located, whether they have flying experience, what type of drone it is, how many batteries they have, and whether they have served in the army.

The idea is that the drones will be used to obtain an aerial overview of troop movements and enemy positions so that the Ukrainian army can fight more effectively on the ground.

It is also conceivable that the drones will be equipped with mechanisms to drop explosives over enemy positions.

How Military And Civilian Dji Drones Are Used In Ukraine - Special
Collection of civilian drones by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Source: Twitter

No-fly zone

However, the question is how long civilian DJI drones can be used in the fight against the Russians.

There is a chance that the Chinese government will receive a request via to force DJI to establish a no-fly zone over all of Ukraine.

As a result, drones could theoretically no longer take off, unless they are used offline and the geofencing system does not receive updates.

DJI previously introduced such a national no-fly zone in Syria a few years back.

A possible nationwide no-fly zone could be circumvented by the Ukrainian armed forces by equipping the drones with so-called NFZ mods.

NFZ mods are pieces of software and/or hardware that ensure that a drone’s geofencing system is bypassed.

Ironically, today’s most effective NFZ mods are marketed by a Russian company.

At No Limit Dronez, drone owners from Ukraine can temporarily request free software NFZ hacks.

How Military And Civilian Dji Drones Are Used In Ukraine - Special 1
A hardware NFZ mod. Source: CoperSafe

Flying civilian DJI drones in Ukraine is not without danger

Flying civilian DJI drones is not without danger for the operator.

If the Russian armed forces are in possession of mobile systems, the exact location of the drone pilot can be traced from every DJI drone within a radius of a few miles.

There is also equipment that can detect the source of radio signals. For example, improvised bombs (IEDs) are sometimes detonated remotely using RF signals.

To prevent this, any source of suspected radio emissions may be immediately identified and eliminated by the Russians.

How Military And Civilian Dji Drones Are Used In Ukraine - Special
The mobile variant of the AeroScope system. Source: DJI

Delivery of parts for civilian DJI drones

To prevent the military from running out of batteries and spare parts, and suppliers from other are being called on to supply parts.

For example, Jacob Cereteli, a drone developer from Kiev writes on LinkedIn:

“To all my contacts in and other countries. Ukraine needs your support. We need small parts for drones. Batteries, servos etc., ready to collect from the border. Anyone who can help with purchasing, please let me know. We can pay immediately. If you are able to help, send me your phone number via DM.”

Military Drones

In addition to civilian DJI drones, military drones are also widely deployed by the Ukrainian army.

Various recordings are circulating on social media showing Russian convoys being attacked by armed Bayraktar TB2 drones.

For example, a trailer with BUK missiles is said to have been destroyed 100 kilometers northwest of Kiev.

YouTube video

The Bayraktar TB2 is a military fixed-wing drone developed in .

The device is controlled via a satellite connection and can be deployed at great distances. The drone can take off and land autonomously. The system can be equipped with laser-guided bombs.

The Ukrainian army would have a total of twelve of these aircraft. Of these, at least two are said to have been shot down by the Russians.

How Military And Civilian Dji Drones Are Used In Ukraine - Special 2

People’s drone

It is unclear whether the Ukrainian ‘People’s Drone’ is still being used, for which a crowdfunding campaign was started in 2014.

At the time, the idea was to develop a home-built drone that would allow reconnaissance flights above the borders with the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

The idea was to finance the purchase of at least twenty reconnaissance drones with money from citizens.

As now, in 2014 there was a lot of willingness among the inhabitants of Ukraine to support their own army, not only financially, but also, for example, by providing services and products.

How Military And Civilian Dji Drones Are Used In Ukraine - Special

Russian deployment of drones

It goes without saying that not only the Ukrainian army, but also the Russian army uses drones.

For example, photos have been shared on Twitter of a captured Russian unit that had a DJI Mavic 2 for gathering strategic information from the air.

Furthermore, it is obvious that the Russians will also use armed civilian DJI drones in their fight against the Ukrainian army units.

In the separatist region of Donbas, deadly DIY drones were already deployed against the soldiers from Ukraine in 2020, as can be seen in the video below.

YouTube video

Cyber war

The deployment of drones is an important pillar of the defense strategy of the Ukrainian defence. But the battle in Ukraine is also largely taking place online.

Worldwide, individuals and companies are committed to supporting the fight against the Russian army.

In addition to using social media to mobilize people, the hacker movement Anonymous has announced it has launched a cyber war against the Russian government.

Elon Musk has ordered Starlink to be activated in Ukraine, and Google has banned live traffic information from Maps as the Russians may be able to take advantage of this.

How Military And Civilian Dji Drones Are Used In Ukraine - Special 3

This article first appeared on Dronewatch and is written by Wiebe de Jager who is also a DroneXL contributor.

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Wiebe de Jager
Wiebe de Jager

Wiebe de Jager is the founder of Dronewatch and author of several bestselling books about drone photography. Wiebe is a certified drone pilot and has a full ROC license.

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