Powerful R18 drone destroys $130M in Russian military equipment

The drone division of the Ukrainian military, Aerorozvidka, just released a statement saying that their powerful R18 drone helped to destroy $130 million in Russian military equipment since the beginning of the conflict.

You can donate to Aerorozvidka here.

That is the quantity of enemy equipment that was struck and destroyed with the aid of Aerorozvidka’s Ukrainian drone R18. And this is merely data from a subset of the R18 crews.

Ten facts about the R18 drone

Aerorozvidka would like you to know the following ten facts about their R18 drones:

• R18 has a high ROI. Aerorozvidka specialists have calculated that every dollar invested in producing a copter is equivalent to $670 in enemy losses due to destroyed and damaged military equipment. For example, the cost of BMP-2 is about $1 million; about 30 were destroyed, damaged or disabled.

• The R18 drone was developed by the Ukrainian military from the very beginning. The project started in 2017, and in 2019, the drone has already begun performing tasks in the Joint Forces Operation Zone.

• It has high resistance to enemy means of radio-electronic warfare. That is, the drone can perform the mission even if radio interference is put against it.

• The first use of the R18 during a large-scale invasion was to inflict damage on the airfield at Gostomel.

• As of September 2022, 20 crews of R18 drones are working on the front lines of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has neutralized and damaged more than 100 units of enemy equipment.

• The drone can conduct reconnaissance, but its primary use is the night-time dropping of ammunition on enemy vehicles, small fortifications, and ammunition depots.

• The R18 is equipped with a thermal imaging camera for functioning at night.

• The drone has eight engines. This number of motors is used for greater reliability.

• R18 uses RKG-3 cumulative anti-tank grenades or RKG-1600 bombs created on their basis

• The training of one R18 пилот беспилотника lasts from two weeks to a month.

Smaller drones, such as the DJI Mavic 3, have been widely employed by both sides in the Украина–Россия conflict, mostly for reconnaissance operations.

Aerorozvidka

Aerorozvidka is a Ukrainian drone unit that started out as a group of civil defenders in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. The group got started with crowdfunding, but is now a lot more professional and has been integrated into the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2015. Aerorozvidka receives funding from both the Ukrainian Министерство обороны as well as the general public.

Photos courtesy of Aerorozvidka.

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