The Russian Satellite News Agency quoted the US "Foreign Policy" magazine as saying that an anonymous official recently revealed to the media that at present, the Ukrainian front-line pilots and the chief of staff not only have differences on the use of drones, but even officials on both sides of the United States and Ukraine have begun to worry about whether the US-made "Gray Hawk" UAV can "survive" more than one or two missions, because it is likely to be shot down by Russia's advanced air defense systems.
For this reason, a Ukrainian pilot (drone operator) once said that given that the Russian army currently has a fairly complete air defense system, in this case, our use of expensive drones will become very "dangerous", this is not Afghanistan! At the same time, it is also reported that because the Russian army has strengthened air defense, the Ukrainian army has actually restricted the use of Turkish drones.
For example, at present, the Ukrainian army will not only rarely use the Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 UAV to perform special missions and attack missions, but even claim that they have almost reached the point of "useless"! In summary, it can be seen that the differences between the ukrainian front-line pilots and their commanders on the use of drones are actually very obvious, that is, although the Ukrainian army may get two more advanced UAV equipment at the same time, because they are not free, it is inevitable to encounter some obstacles in the actual use process.
To put it bluntly, since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, although Europe and the United States and other countries have "aided" a lot of weapons to the Ukrainian side, most of them belong to old equipment, which is commonly known as "inventory goods" in the outside world. Drones, however, are not only advanced, but they all require Ukraine to spend real money and silver to buy!
In other words, once it comes to supplying advanced weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian side, Europe and the United States will quietly change the nature of "assistance" to the nature of "procurement." For example, as early as 2018, the Ukrainian side spent about $70 million to order more than a dozen Turkish TB-2 drones (including 3 ground stations). In the next few years, the Ukrainian side not only continued to purchase this UAV on this basis, but even intended to establish a UAV joint venture with the earth to jointly develop or produce this type of UAV equipment.
It can be seen from this that whether it is purchasing or establishing a joint venture, the Ukrainian side will inevitably spend a lot of money. Earlier this month, the British "Reuters" also released news that the US government not only plans to "supply" 4 MQ-1C "Gray Eagle" drones to Ukraine, but also equip it with "Hellfire" air-to-ground missiles.
However, although the British media used the word "supply" or "provide" when publishing this news, it was actually a sale, which is the main reason why the US Congress repeatedly reviewed the "arms sales plan". It should also be mentioned that due to the current objections raised by some people in the final stages of the US Congress's review of this arms sale plan, it is worried that after the drone was shot down on the Battlefield in Ukraine, its wreckage will not only fall into the hands of the Russian army, but also pose a security risk to the US military (equipment) due to technology leakage.
Therefore, at present, the US Pentagon is continuing to conduct high-level evaluation of the arms sales transaction on the one hand; On the other hand, it is also trying to broker the deal by replacing the Gray Hawk drone with less advanced equipment. This is probably another reason why Ukrainian pilots claim that their use of US-made drones is a "dangerous behavior", that is, leaking secrets.
In summary, if it were not for the US media breaking this news, I am afraid that many people still have great expectations for the Ukrainian drone force, hoping that they can play a big role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and achieve remarkable results. However, in fact, no one ever thought that in such a fierce battlefield, the Ukrainian army not only had to look ahead and look backward when using drones, but also be so afraid of the tail. To put it bluntly, it is the curse of no money!
In fact, military fans should know that this Russian-Ukrainian conflict looks like an offensive and defensive war on the surface, but in fact it is a war of attrition. The Ukrainian side consumes personnel and equipment, while the Russian side consumes weapons and ammunition. If you have doubts about this, you can refer to the recent news that the West has "donated" tanks to the Ukrainian side, 4 vehicles in Australia and 35 in Slovenia, it seems that the Ukrainian army can receive nearly 40 tanks in a week.
But at the same time, the Russian army released information that they destroyed as many as 20 Ukrainian chariots in one day. In other words, the nearly 40 chariots "donated" by the West are the consumption of the Ukrainian army on the battlefield for one day. At the same time, looking at the drones in the hands of the Ukrainian army, although it is not clear how many TB-2 drones it has received from Turkey, but they will not exceed 100 when they are full, how to use this?
As the Ukrainian front-line pilots said, this is not Afghanistan! If they resist the strong air defense pressure of the Russian army to release these drones, then theoretically within a month, the type of drone will be left. This is also the main reason why the Russian army announced the results of the battle not long ago, claiming that since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, they have shot down a total of about a thousand drones of all sizes of the Ukrainian army, which is not counting the ground station of the remote control drone.
The ground station of the remote control of these UAVs is either bombed by the Russian army, or interfered with or shielded by the other side's electronic warfare weapons, in this case, even if the Ukrainian army is willing to use the Turkish TB-2 UAV, or even the American "Gray Eagle" UAV to risk, it is basically a thousand dollars, and the Ukrainian side obviously cannot withstand this loss and consumption.
Of course, if the West can "aid" The Ukrainian drone equipment is another story, although they consume a lot of money when attacking the Russian army, but the losses caused to the other side are certainly not small, so that the only thing that can not be sustained in the end is probably the Russian army. In fact, it can also be seen from this that the current attitude of the West towards the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, although it is intended to use the conflict to drag down the Russian side, but when it comes to the supply of expensive and advanced weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian side, they will be filled with righteous indignation; The other side cannot hide their miserliness and selfishness.
Finally, let's talk about it, since the advanced UAV equipment is millions or even tens of millions of dollars at every turn, then even if the Ukrainian army saves again, the drone in its hand will sooner or later be exhausted, and what should it do then? In fact, there is no money to buy more, and the credit also depends on whether the other party is willing or not, which is the main reason why the director of the Turkish Defense Industry Bureau recently claimed that "the supply of weapons to Ukraine will be carefully considered".
Some people may think that the "careful consideration" of the Turkish side at this time is not necessarily for money, but will be pressured by the Russian side to say so. In fact, from the recent increase in Turkey's grain imports and its efforts to promote the "Ukrainian Grain Export Corridor", it can be seen that after the current Ukrainian Black Sea grain export channel is blocked, the most anxious person is probably Turkey, and it is easy to sell Ukrainian weapons and difficult to collect money!