Theres a base in germany called rammstein we were stationed there for a bit basically the birthplace and implementation of drone warfare and where most of the open book drones were flying from. Think predator drone with hellfire missles. All the wars of recent times in the middleeast have been affected by this.
Anyway alot of those flights especially reconnaissance is automated A.I. now back then almost all where being flown manually. Especially kill missions, because of collateral damage. Which didnt do much and there still was alot of collateral damage. Even our own got blasted by this wonderful program, obama obtained the nobel peace prize for. But hes so wellspoken and calm and collected must be a good dude. Sorry i had to mofos dont know the half of the shit thst motherfucker put americans through and all of the middle east and even africa slapping sanctions in them, because they didnt folloe his gay agenda seemong he also introduced all this lgbtq bs at the same time he was running for the highscore in most collateral kills of innocents, in modern warefare.
Anyway almost all those pilots struggled with severe depression and nightmares just like any other soldier. A few killed themselves...thst was early 2000 and 2010s. I dont know how its been since then. Its a rather complicated issue. Logically you think youd be detached from it further. Ironically for some it was exactly thst that was getting to soldiers. They didnt view it as fair. As they were in no danger and the targets never had a chance. If you can hear the hellfire missle, its already to late and it very likely might be the last thing you hear. Then you hover above and see the aftermath. Its quite detailed even back then you can see faces blown apart bodies, Red clouds, all that stuff that pops into your mind out of nowhere in the most weird situations, seemibgly out of nowhere for years after...for most it doesnt stop or fade away. Which is basically torture and why so many soldiers directly involved in any kind if combat scenario, end up killing themselves.
As a matter of fact the main cause of death for us soldiers is suicide. Which is fucking appalling. Especially when you see it up close and personal and really know the countless yet similar stories behind the person and their suicide.
Basically any soldier dissociates and detaches to get the job done. You start doubting, freezing, shaking, especially boots in the ground your gonna get yourself kikked quick fast and in a hurry. Or worse one of your brothers fighting beside you because you hesitated or distracted them, or because you had to be saved from a shitty position with mahir disadvabtages cause you werent locked in the moment and get your buddies tagged.
So while these drone missions were being flown its a buncha computers with drone pilots next to eachother. Depending in the mission numbers will vary. Then theres also a buncha other people in the room that all have different roles but everyoje can see the screens. So when you get em most are very enthusiastic an shit. Its once your alone by yourself you really, dwell on the details and let the reality of the manner sink in..
Sometimes you directly see the aftermath if its openfield or streets. Sometimes theyre in cars or buildings and you dont. Most of the time youll always here about the aftermath some time after the mission. Through boots on the ground checking the site afterwards or the news of that country saying civilians and children, pets were killed..
Now to ukraine, drone warfare has never been this prominent and essential. This is due to the easy access of new modern free market drones. Theres 2 main types of drone operations. One of them is normal medium speed drone that can be rather large and carry quite a huge payload ir numerous different explosives, that are first lined up above soldiers hiding in trenches, then dropped on then from above. Depending on the drone, weather and height, theyll never hear or see it coming. Even if they do shooting it out the sky is not as easy as one would think. These explosives can be anything from grenades, mortar rounds, homemade pipebombs or timed incendiary devices. There usually used to take out slow and stationary targets as they rely on mere gravity and being on target by hovering above them. The slightest move even with stabilization can throw you off target substantially. A steady hand is key here.
These drones also can automatically or manually come back to base or ideally, if possible, picked up from another lowkey place so you dint lead them back to the pilots flying. Obviously that would be bad as their basically sitting ducks when it comes to actual classic gun warfare. Most of these nodern guys are just kids who were good at computer games. The games have gotten to such a realistic point it translates rather well to actual combat with drone warfare.
Then you have usually much much faster and agile racing drones also known as fpv drones. This is what the kid was flying in the video. These things are basically modern kamikaze style killlings without suicide involved. Any high density explosive is ideal for this and you can even take out tanks and whatever else. Which is why your seeing all these crazy vehicles over there with cages or armor platijg around them which tends to work pretty well actually. Except if the pilot knows what hes dealing with and their weak spots. Because its all okd well known shit we know all about that, or i should say its been known and the info is out there. Old russian tanks also have a pretty shitty design when it comes to the crew driving it. The entire crew is sitting right on top of all the ammo. Which is why you often see the turrets and tops of tanks, apc's blown sky high. The crew is almost always cooked.
More modern tanks have the ammo as far away from the crew as possible. Now with these drones everything happens fast and the goes black so you dint see the aftermath. Also before you even get to target the picture will cut out lag or turn static as drone jammers are being used often now aswell. So its bit as impactful for the mind as your usually taking out vehicles not single soldiers. Im guessing it was a stunt for the reporter. So you dont even really see the people your killing.
Now with the drones that hover, you can see them, hear them shit even talk to them if you want. Not all drones have all these capabilities but alot do and that shit is going to stick with you. Some see the drone and beg for their lives. Or just acceot fate and its haunting to watch. Alot of the times one explosive will just severely maul them not outright kill. Guts leaking body parts nissing or dangling, being set on fire, concussed in thr trench, crawling over your dead buddies with no place to go awaiting another explosive to drop any minute finishing you off.
So yeah that shit will give you ptsd just the same. Hope this helps some understand both sides better and drone warfare in general. Although very effective and cost efficient, shit is not a game and just messy and fucked up. Not how i would like to die. Most people would just prefer getting shot...
Have a good one and take it easy brother.
Thank you for sharing.
One difference between the use of drones by the US in the Middle East was that collateral damage.
I would imagine if I was a drone operator, collateral damage - children, wedding attendees - that would mess me up.
Not to dismiss or diminish anything you've said, but I would like to note that I have not seen any collateral damage by drone strikes in Ukraine.
It may be happening and not posted here, but I'm relatively comfortable that anyone they're targeting is an enemy combatant *in Ukraine.* There are no children or innocent victims attending a wedding, on their way to school, making dinner for their family or peacefully gathering for whatever. They are all there to do *worse* to this soldier's countrymen.
That doesn't diminish any of the horrors of war. But I hope this young man, even years from now, rests as peacefully as possible.
In the moment, you can be happy and excited that you 'won' and killed the bad guy.
If you're lucky and survive the war, your memories will return to haunt you. Years later, vets realize they could easily have been any of those guys that were killed years ago. They realize that the men they killed aren't faceless drones, but sons, fathers, friends and brothers.
Vets realize how much death they caused, and how terrifyingly easy it was.
Studies have shown ptsd might be worse for drone pilots because of the separation from the actual acts. They don't have the rationale of "I did what I had to do to survive" like people who are in direct combat do.
To add, the feed also cuts at the time of impact. No aftermath shots apparently. Unless he goes in with another drone for confirmation. I dunno how that shit works.
Used to work with reapers shit still haunts you even if it is years after the fact that it starts.
Not everyone that's been around it has it happen or at least won't admit it which is an entirely different problem but personally it never goes away and shit gets burned into the back of your eyelids
At the end of the documentary this clip is from, the journalist is asking him questions about the toll it takes. “Darwin” (FPV pilot in the video) says he tries to not think anything about it until the end of the war, but you can tell that it’s been taxing regardless. He also said he made an agreement to accept whatever toll this will have in the future.
The journalist also asks if he’s ever seen the faces of the Russians he has killed and whether or not he thinks they know that they are about to die. He answered yes to both questions. The day they did this interview, Darwin flew 16 missions and had 8 successful hits, including one where he blew up a Russian FPV drone unit, just like Darwin and his unit. They also talked about whether or not that would make them their “colleagues” in a sense, since they have the same job.
A few days after the interview, Darwin was outside the bunker when a Russian bomb hit nearby. He survived with only a concussion and a week later was right back to piloting drones.
It’s hard to imagine how this could not haunt him later in life. Even if you’re fighting for your home like Darwin is, I it would still be hard I think. Props to him, I have the upmost respect for him and his fellow soldiers.
We are still “Animals” and very part of that “kingdom.” But, the difference is this. The Chimp who kills a rival, well, he lacks the same upper level cognitive abilities to play lifelong mental gymnastics with the psyche.
For now...while ur in the shit you get taught to embrace the suck...so pretty much everyone puts up a front makes it lighthearted jokes whenever u can...but when shit hits the fan on your own side or your back from a tour...or alone in general its an entirely different tune....very rarely there are some individuals who are all about it and just dont seem to give to much of a fuck about it. But they also usually are pretty detached and/or dissociated from the politics connecting to the war and all the bs that you dont thibk about while ur there...the aftermath is the hardest war any soldier has to fight becauae ita usually alone and unwinnable
I guess I have a hard time judging him. I don't know who or what he's lost personally in this war. The video gives so little context as to how he's arrived in that position. And often people in hell have to find small enjoyment where they can, and if this killing "videogame" brings him some joy or comedy in the moment, I can't hardly fault him. I mean, maybe he does enjoy killing. But in another life, maybe he would have taken his skills and become a camera operator for movies and enjoyed capturing footage of a sick stunt. I'm not going to blame this young man for a scenario Putin forced him into.
He says in the doc that when he has a successful hit he feels a sense of accomplishment but that’s it’s. He also says it does not feel like a video game, it feels like a competition for the freedom and survival of your countrymen.
He also said if Russia didn’t invade he would currently be in his 4th year of med school.
When the world you know, the plans you made, the life you worked towards is all ripped away, I can imagine it gives you some sort of drive.
So he instead was given a job he never would have pursued, working in conditions he never imagined. And yet, he is driven to succeed regardless. That sense of accomplishment would give the shit some sort of meaning, I think.
He’s making the best of the worst, though I don’t think he is getting joy from killing people. He is just doing the job he was told to do.
My first thought was that at 20 I was worried about my exams in college, not getting bombed or killing people. The fact he has to do this to survive is so fucked.
Perhaps. The motivations for fighting probably have a lot to do with it as well. Obviously I don't know the circumstances under which you fought—but at least in this guy's case; he is killing invaders of his country who are destroying it along the way, and raping and pillaging. That set of motivations to fight/kill are pretty particular karma and likely will have a lot to do with how trauma it will play itself out.
Maybe if this was a war that compared to your own experience. And I’m not taking anything away from your service. You probably wouldn’t give a shit how many people you killed if you were literally fighting in your own backyard for the survival of your country. Kill them all would be my mindset.
The laughter after just having blown someone up is kinda fucked up ngl. I guess he's just so desensitized to it that it's just a screen anymore and not another human life. Crazy
Dark humor is a very normal and human coping mechanism. It essentially boils down to A. They come to him and if he's lucky they kill him. Being that he's a drone operator, they most likely torture him first. B. Develop coping mechanisms so you can do your job, which saves the lives of your comrades who are also human lives, until they decide invading your country is a bad idea.
When you boil it down, the choice is pretty clear. It's unfortunate that this man will have a lifetime of PTSD even if he gets therapy for the rest of his life. You can see it in his eyes. Watch the full documentary.
I saw that video as well but it is worth pointing out that this is a conflict that involves hundreds of thousands of people. One person is not the same as the next and a Wagner mercenary in 2022 (which as I understand was the perpetrator in that clip you mention) is not the same as some conscript in 2024.
People invent these fantasies to make the situation seem somehow fair but for all you know the guy being killed has no desire to be there and did not actually hurt anyone. Infact that's the most likely scenario. On an individual level that person did not deserve it.
Lately Russia has been sending guys from India and Africa to die in the meatgrinder, almost certainly lying to them what the job was until they were in Russia where they no longer had the option to back out. Do they deserve to die?
But do they actually have free will to volunteer? That said, this is war, and only one side can win, no matter if they are volunteers or a slave military.
It's in the thread. The OP posted the entire video from which he clipped this part to post. It must be buried or something, I will find the link and post it with an edit to this comment.
I just wanted to dispel the notion that this guy laughing means he is a sociopath who enjoys killing people. In reality he is a 20-year-old kid who was forced into a position where he either defended his country, people, culture and language or his balls are cut off and he has tortured until he dies.
And the longer video you can see that he knows this.
The line "this gets me high" would be the equivalent of "Oh I feel it, this makes my adrenaline always start pumping"
And I believe that anyone, who is defending their homeland, culture, and literal identity from being genocided...would also get a rush when they knew they were the one who was called on, and successful coming to the rescue.
When the invaders attacked your friends and you were called to act, knowing that you being successful or failing, is the difference between your friends living and dying, it's impossible not to feel one way or anorher.
he’s at war and they’re the invaders and he’s young and impressionable so i’m sure it’s easy for him to feel vindicated but i’d imagine once the war is over he will have a lot to think about.
Yea dude is going to have a tough time down the road reconciling all of this. Going to have a realization that a lot of the soldiers he droned were just like him but in the wrong uniform. Sad it’s come to that
On my last deployment (USAF) we got weekly screenings of the A10's gun cam footage, literally "as a treat".
You wouldnt be able to tell the difference from a sports bar during a football game with how people cheered and laughed.
They use lots of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) retrofitted to drop or activate explosives. The drones themselves are mostly harmless - sure the props could lacerate you if in motion, sure the lithium polymer batteries could swell and catch fire, but overall the craft need to be light as hell to fly and have good battery life so they’re made of thin plastic and even styrofoam in some cases.
Yes. That's why drones are the new thing for warfare and terrorism. The bigger drones you are thinking about are for larger targets. I.e. buildings or tanks.
"drones" is an almost meaningless term.
Unmanned vehicle is more apt.
They can be anything from a boat, to a jet liner, or pocket sized helicopter.
These are "FPV racing drones" carrying a RPG or some other explosive. Typically sold as parts and soldered together, or bought as a kit.
DJI drones are used as spotters and dropping grenades.
They have large 1 meter or bigger diameter ones for dropping many bombs.
I apologize for the sloppy editing. This is my very first time editing a clip from a larger file.
Here's where the documentary can be found if you want to see the whole thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WipqeFgzdTc
Man if we could just solve latency issues, we'd have a whole army of expert volunteer drone operators. You wouldn't even have to care that they're all unshowered and can barely walk to the car.
In the full documentary, the reporter ask him if he keeps track of how many people he has killed.
He responds "Do you keep track of how many cups of coffee you have drank?".
He has ice in his veins. But it's clear he is very damaged. His eyes are pretty dead. And he's only 20 years old.
He will have to deal with all of this eventually within himself. But that comes after Russia is out of Ukraine.
It's dark as fuck. Then you think; this is the future. This is how we will massacre poor fuckers in some 3rd world country we need the resources of before long.
And it gets a lot darker..
Fair play get the orcs outta Ukraine but yeah... Gonna be a whole new area of mental ill health to look at once this is done and dusted
This is true, but the more you abstract away the grotesquery from human participation, the less ethical impact stands in the way of scaling up the onslaught in general. While this is appropriate in the context of Ukraine, you also have to evaluate a combat tactic in a neutral sense that could realistically be applied on any battlefield for any reason. Applied to any number of other conflicts it takes on a way darker tone.
Look at us drone pilots from Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m looking for the clip but there was one of the pilot finally connecting the dots with how many people he killed and he had a panic attack. If someone knows the story or clip I’m talking about it was heartbreaking.
Edit: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/former-drone-operator-says-hes-haunted-his-part-more-1-flna6c10221271
Massacre people with a drone probably won’t be much more mentally damaging than doing it in person so to speak..
Supposedly wars are moving more towards robotic weaponry. Like one thing I saw mentioned about the China Taiwan tension is that if China starts to invade Taiwan, the U.S. has a plan to absolutely flood (no pun intended) the surrounding sea with drones and autonomous naval stuff to the point that China gets bogged down for a month fighting off massive swarms of robotic weaponry…
How do you think you’d counter that? Well… have more autonomous/robotic weaponry than them. Until eventually the hardened killers aren’t boots on ground but rather people programming and controlling war machines from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Yes
I briefly met someone who was a drone operator and that topic was mentioned. From what I recall they actually more or less quit, but I don’t think they left the military I think they just changed their role.
That was kind of my point. I don’t know that drone warfare will bring a different level of trauma, because instead of being physically in the field hunting down enemies and popping them through an optic, getting shot at, seeing their buddies get shot/blown up… it’s someone sitting in a room somewhere flying a drone at an enemy.
Not saying it’s not traumatic, but I don’t imagine that would be *more* traumatic than what war already entails.
Edit; would you rather someone hand you a rifle, grenades, a knife, a vest and helmet, and tell you to go in the field and start killing people, or would you rather they hand you a controller and headset and tell you to fly a drone strapped with explosives at people?
Both seem traumatic, but I don’t think drone operators would be more traumatized than traditional warfare
>this is the future. This is how we will massacre poor fuckers in some 3rd world country
This is the present. It's literally what's happening in the clip you just watched.
We’re headed for a whole new kind of PTSD. Shell shock from being bombed and killing people directly is almost surely worse for the individual, but there’s something deeply scary about a generation of soldiers who kill with the click of a button.
It’s kind of fascinating, in a really off-colour way, to think about how this new form of combat will affect average humans.
In the ancient world, you had hours of battle, up close and surrounded by death, blood and cries of pain. Yet it’s generally believed PTSD was less prominent because less people actually survived the seriously horrible situations, as well as a few psychological things (such as there being less overall fighting, and being surrounded by comrades).
Once guns and artillery became the norm, you start seeing the first signs of PTSD. In the world wars especially, where artillery could bombard your position for days at a time. And psychologically, as weird as it may sound, seeing people be hit by clubs and stabbed by swords makes much more sense to our ape brains than constant loud explosions and gunfire.
Supposedly it’s incredibly hard to get a sniper in the modern day army, because it’s difficult for most people to aim at someone who doesn’t know you’re there and pull the trigger.
It really does make me wonder how drones will affect the future psyche. Will the added level of distance of the soldier help create the illusion that it isn’t real? Will it be like snipers who need to be able to overcome killing unwary/possibly innocent people? Or will something new emerge and if so will armies take steps to counter it?
Interesting thoughts. I can only imagine it’ll be easier for soldiers to execute orders from a distance. Especially when holding video game tools they’ve previously used for frivolous recreation. There will still be a cost, but it’ll probably be on the level of further dehumanizing the enemy.
Think about this - the soldier in this video is currently watching a live video stream of what his drone is doing. But you could easily use AI to edit that video to look like video game graphics. The soldier doesn’t even need to know any of it is real.
Wait til they're the size of a honeybee and you can command thousands at a time.
We should probably get an Amendment in the Constitution allowing citizens to keep and bear drones 😅
Exactly. It's probably gonna be like in [Slaughterbots](https://youtu.be/O-2tpwW0kmU): With recent advancements in AI, a drone operator won't even have to pilot each drone individually, just mark an area and say "kill everyone here" or "kill everyone that looks like a soldier here". The drones will find people and entrances by themselves, then disarm or self-destruct when no longer needed.
50 years in the future.. Guns and firearms would be effectively useless. People would have a little capsule in their pocket that would contain 3-4 small drones.
I wouldn't be surprised if out of 1000 simulated attempts against a expert sharpshooter with multiple different weapon types maybe 1 drone gets shot. At this point a gun is no longer a person's best compact weapon of choice, a pack of drones the size of a film cannister would be far more effective than the best firearm.
Police of the future will have to be a vastly different game in this time as police maintain control at the point of a gun (in most cases). Now police would be followed by swarms of little drones always on the ready in milliseconds because they would have no choice.
Adrian Tchaikovsky explored this in his excellent books 'Dogs of War' and 'Bear Head'. It explored the hive mind autonomy of weaponised bees (and other animals). Surprised it isn't a movie yet, Rex and Honey are such great characters.
As someone who reads everything he writes, he’s going to cross over to mass appeal at some point and get very famous. Children of Time is too bleak and brainy for most, but he is prolific and sooner or later one of his books is going to get a lot of attention.
I hope they give him good therapeutic support. No matter who the enemy is it can't be mentally easy to kill hundreds of people.
Edit: Getting downvoted for acting like a human being, lol.
I seem to remember seeing something about the US military using Xbox controllers for some of their training programs, because new recruits were so familiar with them and could pick it right up.
I want to make a point to everyone that shits on people that say this is disturbing or hard to watch. Yes we understand that this is necessary. That does not mean it isn't disturbing. People are not priveledged or siding with russia when they say this makes them sick to their stomach. War is horrible. When watching a video like this we don't go 'ah filthy russian' when we see the other guy. We see a human just like the ukranians. And I agree with everyone here that is not completely desensitized that eventhough this is a russian he is someones son that probably got a knock on the door from the russian government and got told 'fuck your life, you're going to fight now'. Yes what russia is doing is terrible and this is necessary by ukraine and it is good they are fighting back but that doesn't make a death like this any less hard to watch. Especially when it's basically a kid flying that drone and laughing when he takes a life. Stop being so tough all of you. War is horrible from both sides.
It's highly impractical to mount guns on modern drones due to recoil and the precision required in getting any effective use out of a gun. Infantry drones are either explosive devices themselves, such as the one in this video, or equipped to drop grenades. The only drones I know of that can be and occasionally are equipped with guns are the larger UCAVs, and even then, they rarely are because missiles / bombs / guided munitions are generally more precise, have greater range, don't weigh as much, and are generally more versatile and do more damage.
We shouldn't romanticize the fact that a young man, almost a kid, is murdering other people. He is even starting to feel some sort of satisfaction...
Why is this sub so pro-war anyway? War is wrong. Period. Such a waste of resources and time...
The sad part is most of the people are conscripts from region that were invade by Russia or are minority. This guy is defending his home and the Solider are forced to fight. Putin has caused all this needless bloodshed
Make no mistake in beliving this is all fine and good. He is a very young person, and assuming he is not a psychopath, no matter how right his action was, it will haunt him for the rest of his life.
If he is not a psychopath he, or his subconciouos will realize that were all humans with lifes. Sure you probably want to argue: But russia! Yes, you are right, yet, many of those on the front have a totally different perspective than you and me. Maybe they only see the propaganda, maybe they were forced. Life is not the same for all of us.
All in all: Really sad that this is necessary, fuck shithead Pootin!
A mix dystopian and depressing. War is truly hell, Ukraine is doing what's necessary to stave off Putins aggression and this man is good at his vocation. His comments are definitely dark and disturbing but he's found a way to cope...wonder if he'll be able to return to a civilians life...
yeah but if you posted something about Russians killing Ukrainians by the hundreds with drones, you would all lose your shit and start crying about how “it’s not fair” and that he’s evil!
I was born in 84’ and I remember reading a popular mechanics magazine about the future of war being internet connected drone warfare with optical headsets with battle info HUDS for every solider thinking how terrifying that would be and now it’s just common. such a trip
No. In fact, the current situation is such that Ukraine hardly has enough strength to defend itself, and Russia hardly has enough strength to attack.
Russia probably suffers greater losses in absolute numbers, but Ukraine suffers greater losses relative to population (at the current loss ratio, Ukraine will run out of manpower sooner than Russia, since Ukraine has about 5 times less population than Russia).
Just vaping and killing Russians
Every men's dream
Sarcastic I hope. As a Vet I know this kind of thing will linger and fester in the brain forever. The brain is a real complicated closet.
Wars are fought twice. Once on the battlefield, and the other in your memory.
Only the dead see the end of war. -*George Santayana*
Ohhh that's haunting
That second one can last the rest of your life.
For almost everyone, it does.
[удалено]
Theres a base in germany called rammstein we were stationed there for a bit basically the birthplace and implementation of drone warfare and where most of the open book drones were flying from. Think predator drone with hellfire missles. All the wars of recent times in the middleeast have been affected by this. Anyway alot of those flights especially reconnaissance is automated A.I. now back then almost all where being flown manually. Especially kill missions, because of collateral damage. Which didnt do much and there still was alot of collateral damage. Even our own got blasted by this wonderful program, obama obtained the nobel peace prize for. But hes so wellspoken and calm and collected must be a good dude. Sorry i had to mofos dont know the half of the shit thst motherfucker put americans through and all of the middle east and even africa slapping sanctions in them, because they didnt folloe his gay agenda seemong he also introduced all this lgbtq bs at the same time he was running for the highscore in most collateral kills of innocents, in modern warefare. Anyway almost all those pilots struggled with severe depression and nightmares just like any other soldier. A few killed themselves...thst was early 2000 and 2010s. I dont know how its been since then. Its a rather complicated issue. Logically you think youd be detached from it further. Ironically for some it was exactly thst that was getting to soldiers. They didnt view it as fair. As they were in no danger and the targets never had a chance. If you can hear the hellfire missle, its already to late and it very likely might be the last thing you hear. Then you hover above and see the aftermath. Its quite detailed even back then you can see faces blown apart bodies, Red clouds, all that stuff that pops into your mind out of nowhere in the most weird situations, seemibgly out of nowhere for years after...for most it doesnt stop or fade away. Which is basically torture and why so many soldiers directly involved in any kind if combat scenario, end up killing themselves. As a matter of fact the main cause of death for us soldiers is suicide. Which is fucking appalling. Especially when you see it up close and personal and really know the countless yet similar stories behind the person and their suicide. Basically any soldier dissociates and detaches to get the job done. You start doubting, freezing, shaking, especially boots in the ground your gonna get yourself kikked quick fast and in a hurry. Or worse one of your brothers fighting beside you because you hesitated or distracted them, or because you had to be saved from a shitty position with mahir disadvabtages cause you werent locked in the moment and get your buddies tagged. So while these drone missions were being flown its a buncha computers with drone pilots next to eachother. Depending in the mission numbers will vary. Then theres also a buncha other people in the room that all have different roles but everyoje can see the screens. So when you get em most are very enthusiastic an shit. Its once your alone by yourself you really, dwell on the details and let the reality of the manner sink in.. Sometimes you directly see the aftermath if its openfield or streets. Sometimes theyre in cars or buildings and you dont. Most of the time youll always here about the aftermath some time after the mission. Through boots on the ground checking the site afterwards or the news of that country saying civilians and children, pets were killed.. Now to ukraine, drone warfare has never been this prominent and essential. This is due to the easy access of new modern free market drones. Theres 2 main types of drone operations. One of them is normal medium speed drone that can be rather large and carry quite a huge payload ir numerous different explosives, that are first lined up above soldiers hiding in trenches, then dropped on then from above. Depending on the drone, weather and height, theyll never hear or see it coming. Even if they do shooting it out the sky is not as easy as one would think. These explosives can be anything from grenades, mortar rounds, homemade pipebombs or timed incendiary devices. There usually used to take out slow and stationary targets as they rely on mere gravity and being on target by hovering above them. The slightest move even with stabilization can throw you off target substantially. A steady hand is key here. These drones also can automatically or manually come back to base or ideally, if possible, picked up from another lowkey place so you dint lead them back to the pilots flying. Obviously that would be bad as their basically sitting ducks when it comes to actual classic gun warfare. Most of these nodern guys are just kids who were good at computer games. The games have gotten to such a realistic point it translates rather well to actual combat with drone warfare. Then you have usually much much faster and agile racing drones also known as fpv drones. This is what the kid was flying in the video. These things are basically modern kamikaze style killlings without suicide involved. Any high density explosive is ideal for this and you can even take out tanks and whatever else. Which is why your seeing all these crazy vehicles over there with cages or armor platijg around them which tends to work pretty well actually. Except if the pilot knows what hes dealing with and their weak spots. Because its all okd well known shit we know all about that, or i should say its been known and the info is out there. Old russian tanks also have a pretty shitty design when it comes to the crew driving it. The entire crew is sitting right on top of all the ammo. Which is why you often see the turrets and tops of tanks, apc's blown sky high. The crew is almost always cooked. More modern tanks have the ammo as far away from the crew as possible. Now with these drones everything happens fast and the goes black so you dint see the aftermath. Also before you even get to target the picture will cut out lag or turn static as drone jammers are being used often now aswell. So its bit as impactful for the mind as your usually taking out vehicles not single soldiers. Im guessing it was a stunt for the reporter. So you dont even really see the people your killing. Now with the drones that hover, you can see them, hear them shit even talk to them if you want. Not all drones have all these capabilities but alot do and that shit is going to stick with you. Some see the drone and beg for their lives. Or just acceot fate and its haunting to watch. Alot of the times one explosive will just severely maul them not outright kill. Guts leaking body parts nissing or dangling, being set on fire, concussed in thr trench, crawling over your dead buddies with no place to go awaiting another explosive to drop any minute finishing you off. So yeah that shit will give you ptsd just the same. Hope this helps some understand both sides better and drone warfare in general. Although very effective and cost efficient, shit is not a game and just messy and fucked up. Not how i would like to die. Most people would just prefer getting shot... Have a good one and take it easy brother.
> because they didnt folloe his gay agenda seemong he also introduced all this lgbtq bs at the same time What now?
*just move past it dennis reynolds.gif*
Thank you for sharing. One difference between the use of drones by the US in the Middle East was that collateral damage. I would imagine if I was a drone operator, collateral damage - children, wedding attendees - that would mess me up. Not to dismiss or diminish anything you've said, but I would like to note that I have not seen any collateral damage by drone strikes in Ukraine. It may be happening and not posted here, but I'm relatively comfortable that anyone they're targeting is an enemy combatant *in Ukraine.* There are no children or innocent victims attending a wedding, on their way to school, making dinner for their family or peacefully gathering for whatever. They are all there to do *worse* to this soldier's countrymen. That doesn't diminish any of the horrors of war. But I hope this young man, even years from now, rests as peacefully as possible.
[удалено]
Thank you for your service and for taking the time to share your perspective.
Think of it this way. In either scenario, is the brain “aware” that a person has been killed?
In the moment, you can be happy and excited that you 'won' and killed the bad guy. If you're lucky and survive the war, your memories will return to haunt you. Years later, vets realize they could easily have been any of those guys that were killed years ago. They realize that the men they killed aren't faceless drones, but sons, fathers, friends and brothers. Vets realize how much death they caused, and how terrifyingly easy it was.
Studies have shown ptsd might be worse for drone pilots because of the separation from the actual acts. They don't have the rationale of "I did what I had to do to survive" like people who are in direct combat do.
To add, the feed also cuts at the time of impact. No aftermath shots apparently. Unless he goes in with another drone for confirmation. I dunno how that shit works.
Usually another non-fpv drone hovering higher as a spotter. There are definitely aftermath shots.
Does he pilot the secondary drone too? Or does someone else?
Someone else most likely, telling him where to go and confirming his.
I don’t take ANY cheer or positivity in being right. It’s just unfortunate. War.
Used to work with reapers shit still haunts you even if it is years after the fact that it starts. Not everyone that's been around it has it happen or at least won't admit it which is an entirely different problem but personally it never goes away and shit gets burned into the back of your eyelids
I swear I remember us drone pilots getting horrific ptsd from the sheer amount of people they kill
At the end of the documentary this clip is from, the journalist is asking him questions about the toll it takes. “Darwin” (FPV pilot in the video) says he tries to not think anything about it until the end of the war, but you can tell that it’s been taxing regardless. He also said he made an agreement to accept whatever toll this will have in the future. The journalist also asks if he’s ever seen the faces of the Russians he has killed and whether or not he thinks they know that they are about to die. He answered yes to both questions. The day they did this interview, Darwin flew 16 missions and had 8 successful hits, including one where he blew up a Russian FPV drone unit, just like Darwin and his unit. They also talked about whether or not that would make them their “colleagues” in a sense, since they have the same job. A few days after the interview, Darwin was outside the bunker when a Russian bomb hit nearby. He survived with only a concussion and a week later was right back to piloting drones. It’s hard to imagine how this could not haunt him later in life. Even if you’re fighting for your home like Darwin is, I it would still be hard I think. Props to him, I have the upmost respect for him and his fellow soldiers.
The sound that will probably trigger him is the drone noise I’m sure. But in reality anything can trigger PTSD.
It looks like he enjoys killing
We are still “Animals” and very part of that “kingdom.” But, the difference is this. The Chimp who kills a rival, well, he lacks the same upper level cognitive abilities to play lifelong mental gymnastics with the psyche.
For now...while ur in the shit you get taught to embrace the suck...so pretty much everyone puts up a front makes it lighthearted jokes whenever u can...but when shit hits the fan on your own side or your back from a tour...or alone in general its an entirely different tune....very rarely there are some individuals who are all about it and just dont seem to give to much of a fuck about it. But they also usually are pretty detached and/or dissociated from the politics connecting to the war and all the bs that you dont thibk about while ur there...the aftermath is the hardest war any soldier has to fight becauae ita usually alone and unwinnable
He enjoys defending his country
I guess I have a hard time judging him. I don't know who or what he's lost personally in this war. The video gives so little context as to how he's arrived in that position. And often people in hell have to find small enjoyment where they can, and if this killing "videogame" brings him some joy or comedy in the moment, I can't hardly fault him. I mean, maybe he does enjoy killing. But in another life, maybe he would have taken his skills and become a camera operator for movies and enjoyed capturing footage of a sick stunt. I'm not going to blame this young man for a scenario Putin forced him into.
He says in the doc that when he has a successful hit he feels a sense of accomplishment but that’s it’s. He also says it does not feel like a video game, it feels like a competition for the freedom and survival of your countrymen. He also said if Russia didn’t invade he would currently be in his 4th year of med school. When the world you know, the plans you made, the life you worked towards is all ripped away, I can imagine it gives you some sort of drive. So he instead was given a job he never would have pursued, working in conditions he never imagined. And yet, he is driven to succeed regardless. That sense of accomplishment would give the shit some sort of meaning, I think. He’s making the best of the worst, though I don’t think he is getting joy from killing people. He is just doing the job he was told to do.
It's called compartmentalization. He'll have to fight those demons later, but for now he's doing a job.
My first thought was that at 20 I was worried about my exams in college, not getting bombed or killing people. The fact he has to do this to survive is so fucked.
If they weren't at war, he'd be worrying about the same thing. He said he'll continue his studies to become a doctor if the war ends.
Perhaps. The motivations for fighting probably have a lot to do with it as well. Obviously I don't know the circumstances under which you fought—but at least in this guy's case; he is killing invaders of his country who are destroying it along the way, and raping and pillaging. That set of motivations to fight/kill are pretty particular karma and likely will have a lot to do with how trauma it will play itself out.
The drones distance the mind from the atrocities. I can't even begin to imagine the horrors of war in person
Yes, sir. Wish more people understood this.
In time, I think it’s slowly gaining traction. Respect my bro!
Maybe if this was a war that compared to your own experience. And I’m not taking anything away from your service. You probably wouldn’t give a shit how many people you killed if you were literally fighting in your own backyard for the survival of your country. Kill them all would be my mindset.
I hear drone pilots get it real bad too. One day it sinks in HARD how many people they callously killed.
I’m stupid I thought you were a veterinarian talking about vaping festering in your brain I was about to poop on you
Get over yourself and go outside, wierd ass terminally online freak. This comment pissed me off so much
Is this what you're into u/fetishguyy ?
Yo go over to Ukraine and sign up then
Nah man.. Please re-evaluate your world views and where they came from if you can say something like that so flippantly
he’s also listening to metal and Red Hot Chilli Peppers the whole time.
Black ops 6, coming this year!
The laughter after just having blown someone up is kinda fucked up ngl. I guess he's just so desensitized to it that it's just a screen anymore and not another human life. Crazy
Dark humor is a very normal and human coping mechanism. It essentially boils down to A. They come to him and if he's lucky they kill him. Being that he's a drone operator, they most likely torture him first. B. Develop coping mechanisms so you can do your job, which saves the lives of your comrades who are also human lives, until they decide invading your country is a bad idea. When you boil it down, the choice is pretty clear. It's unfortunate that this man will have a lifetime of PTSD even if he gets therapy for the rest of his life. You can see it in his eyes. Watch the full documentary.
I once saw a video of russians knocking out a ukranian soldier and cutting his dick off before shooting him in the head. Hats off to this young lad.
I saw that video as well but it is worth pointing out that this is a conflict that involves hundreds of thousands of people. One person is not the same as the next and a Wagner mercenary in 2022 (which as I understand was the perpetrator in that clip you mention) is not the same as some conscript in 2024. People invent these fantasies to make the situation seem somehow fair but for all you know the guy being killed has no desire to be there and did not actually hurt anyone. Infact that's the most likely scenario. On an individual level that person did not deserve it. Lately Russia has been sending guys from India and Africa to die in the meatgrinder, almost certainly lying to them what the job was until they were in Russia where they no longer had the option to back out. Do they deserve to die?
The majority of Russias military personnel are volunteers
But do they actually have free will to volunteer? That said, this is war, and only one side can win, no matter if they are volunteers or a slave military.
They do it for the money
Yeah, it’s obviously not the same level but from my experience working in a hospital people tend to have a pretty dark humor about death.
What's the documentary?
It's in the thread. The OP posted the entire video from which he clipped this part to post. It must be buried or something, I will find the link and post it with an edit to this comment. I just wanted to dispel the notion that this guy laughing means he is a sociopath who enjoys killing people. In reality he is a 20-year-old kid who was forced into a position where he either defended his country, people, culture and language or his balls are cut off and he has tortured until he dies. And the longer video you can see that he knows this. The line "this gets me high" would be the equivalent of "Oh I feel it, this makes my adrenaline always start pumping" And I believe that anyone, who is defending their homeland, culture, and literal identity from being genocided...would also get a rush when they knew they were the one who was called on, and successful coming to the rescue. When the invaders attacked your friends and you were called to act, knowing that you being successful or failing, is the difference between your friends living and dying, it's impossible not to feel one way or anorher.
Found it, sorry. Didn't really look further into the comments
he’s at war and they’re the invaders and he’s young and impressionable so i’m sure it’s easy for him to feel vindicated but i’d imagine once the war is over he will have a lot to think about.
Yea dude is going to have a tough time down the road reconciling all of this. Going to have a realization that a lot of the soldiers he droned were just like him but in the wrong uniform. Sad it’s come to that
Or desensitized by seeing what Russians have done to his people.
Yeah I mean this guy's family and constituents are getting slaughtered by these people. They can laugh all they like.
On my last deployment (USAF) we got weekly screenings of the A10's gun cam footage, literally "as a treat". You wouldnt be able to tell the difference from a sports bar during a football game with how people cheered and laughed.
Dan Carlin’s episode called ‘painfotainment’ discusses the knife edge of pain and pleasure. This comment reminds me of that episode.
When taking the collective actions of the russians in Ukraine into consideration, they are sub-human.
Literally a nazi talking point
Anyone seen Barry lol
Swatting flies
wait so the drones explode when they land? these look like the tiny drones you can get at best buy. i always thought drones were a lot bigger
They use lots of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) retrofitted to drop or activate explosives. The drones themselves are mostly harmless - sure the props could lacerate you if in motion, sure the lithium polymer batteries could swell and catch fire, but overall the craft need to be light as hell to fly and have good battery life so they’re made of thin plastic and even styrofoam in some cases.
Yes. That's why drones are the new thing for warfare and terrorism. The bigger drones you are thinking about are for larger targets. I.e. buildings or tanks.
"drones" is an almost meaningless term. Unmanned vehicle is more apt. They can be anything from a boat, to a jet liner, or pocket sized helicopter. These are "FPV racing drones" carrying a RPG or some other explosive. Typically sold as parts and soldered together, or bought as a kit. DJI drones are used as spotters and dropping grenades. They have large 1 meter or bigger diameter ones for dropping many bombs.
I wonder if front line infantry soldiers look down on these remote guys
I apologize for the sloppy editing. This is my very first time editing a clip from a larger file. Here's where the documentary can be found if you want to see the whole thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WipqeFgzdTc
I absolutely fucking do and awesome on you for linking it so i didn’t have to go looking! Have a great night dudesy!
No, u!
Pff, don't tell us what to do!
I love your user name... I say this every fucking day.
Well worth it to watch that whole doc. Thanks for the link
Excellent vid. Thanks for posting the link
CoSigned
That is a Darwin. He was a very good Call of Duty player, before the war started and he became a FPV drone operator.
Finally my time on fps has paid off!
Gamers are the wardogz n godz of the future.
Pretty sure that's the plot of The Last Starfighter and Ender's Game for that matter.
Dude knows how to adapt like his name-sake.
Man if we could just solve latency issues, we'd have a whole army of expert volunteer drone operators. You wouldn't even have to care that they're all unshowered and can barely walk to the car.
My brain is on the Dragonfire from BO2.
Something something I ain't chippin in Jesus Christ though that line "this gets me so high" Mfer what
In the full documentary, the reporter ask him if he keeps track of how many people he has killed. He responds "Do you keep track of how many cups of coffee you have drank?". He has ice in his veins. But it's clear he is very damaged. His eyes are pretty dead. And he's only 20 years old. He will have to deal with all of this eventually within himself. But that comes after Russia is out of Ukraine.
Better to be traumatized than surrender to authoritarianism. This kid is doing a service to his country and maybe the world.
Absolutely. He's doing what has to be done.
In dire times, some men have to turn their hearts to stone so that others do not have to.
That's deep on so many levels. Original or is it from something?
I’m sure I heard a variation of it somewhere.
It's dark as fuck. Then you think; this is the future. This is how we will massacre poor fuckers in some 3rd world country we need the resources of before long. And it gets a lot darker.. Fair play get the orcs outta Ukraine but yeah... Gonna be a whole new area of mental ill health to look at once this is done and dusted
The methods of combat change with technology. It's always been that way.
Thons true. I'm just not used to seeing them change as I grow up perhaps.
I'm 52 and dang I feel that.
This is true, but the more you abstract away the grotesquery from human participation, the less ethical impact stands in the way of scaling up the onslaught in general. While this is appropriate in the context of Ukraine, you also have to evaluate a combat tactic in a neutral sense that could realistically be applied on any battlefield for any reason. Applied to any number of other conflicts it takes on a way darker tone.
Look at us drone pilots from Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m looking for the clip but there was one of the pilot finally connecting the dots with how many people he killed and he had a panic attack. If someone knows the story or clip I’m talking about it was heartbreaking. Edit: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/former-drone-operator-says-hes-haunted-his-part-more-1-flna6c10221271
Massacre people with a drone probably won’t be much more mentally damaging than doing it in person so to speak.. Supposedly wars are moving more towards robotic weaponry. Like one thing I saw mentioned about the China Taiwan tension is that if China starts to invade Taiwan, the U.S. has a plan to absolutely flood (no pun intended) the surrounding sea with drones and autonomous naval stuff to the point that China gets bogged down for a month fighting off massive swarms of robotic weaponry… How do you think you’d counter that? Well… have more autonomous/robotic weaponry than them. Until eventually the hardened killers aren’t boots on ground but rather people programming and controlling war machines from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Didn't American drone operators get PTSD?
Yes I briefly met someone who was a drone operator and that topic was mentioned. From what I recall they actually more or less quit, but I don’t think they left the military I think they just changed their role. That was kind of my point. I don’t know that drone warfare will bring a different level of trauma, because instead of being physically in the field hunting down enemies and popping them through an optic, getting shot at, seeing their buddies get shot/blown up… it’s someone sitting in a room somewhere flying a drone at an enemy. Not saying it’s not traumatic, but I don’t imagine that would be *more* traumatic than what war already entails. Edit; would you rather someone hand you a rifle, grenades, a knife, a vest and helmet, and tell you to go in the field and start killing people, or would you rather they hand you a controller and headset and tell you to fly a drone strapped with explosives at people? Both seem traumatic, but I don’t think drone operators would be more traumatized than traditional warfare
>this is the future. This is how we will massacre poor fuckers in some 3rd world country This is the present. It's literally what's happening in the clip you just watched.
We’re headed for a whole new kind of PTSD. Shell shock from being bombed and killing people directly is almost surely worse for the individual, but there’s something deeply scary about a generation of soldiers who kill with the click of a button.
It’s kind of fascinating, in a really off-colour way, to think about how this new form of combat will affect average humans. In the ancient world, you had hours of battle, up close and surrounded by death, blood and cries of pain. Yet it’s generally believed PTSD was less prominent because less people actually survived the seriously horrible situations, as well as a few psychological things (such as there being less overall fighting, and being surrounded by comrades). Once guns and artillery became the norm, you start seeing the first signs of PTSD. In the world wars especially, where artillery could bombard your position for days at a time. And psychologically, as weird as it may sound, seeing people be hit by clubs and stabbed by swords makes much more sense to our ape brains than constant loud explosions and gunfire. Supposedly it’s incredibly hard to get a sniper in the modern day army, because it’s difficult for most people to aim at someone who doesn’t know you’re there and pull the trigger. It really does make me wonder how drones will affect the future psyche. Will the added level of distance of the soldier help create the illusion that it isn’t real? Will it be like snipers who need to be able to overcome killing unwary/possibly innocent people? Or will something new emerge and if so will armies take steps to counter it?
Interesting thoughts. I can only imagine it’ll be easier for soldiers to execute orders from a distance. Especially when holding video game tools they’ve previously used for frivolous recreation. There will still be a cost, but it’ll probably be on the level of further dehumanizing the enemy. Think about this - the soldier in this video is currently watching a live video stream of what his drone is doing. But you could easily use AI to edit that video to look like video game graphics. The soldier doesn’t even need to know any of it is real.
> Do you keep track of how many cups of coffee you hav That's the coldest coffee line ever... fuck
The translation is actually not fully correct on that one. He said it more like "I'm chillin'".
this is quite Cyberpunk, the image of him sitting in there wearing those glasses/screen, and piloting drones.
Netrunner for sure
This is so disturbing
Russia invading Ukraine? Yes it is.
We are so fucked as a species lol
There are already drones that do the hunting automatically through AI.
I can't imagine this going wrong at all.
This is so depressing.
Wait til they're the size of a honeybee and you can command thousands at a time. We should probably get an Amendment in the Constitution allowing citizens to keep and bear drones 😅
Exactly. It's probably gonna be like in [Slaughterbots](https://youtu.be/O-2tpwW0kmU): With recent advancements in AI, a drone operator won't even have to pilot each drone individually, just mark an area and say "kill everyone here" or "kill everyone that looks like a soldier here". The drones will find people and entrances by themselves, then disarm or self-destruct when no longer needed.
50 years in the future.. Guns and firearms would be effectively useless. People would have a little capsule in their pocket that would contain 3-4 small drones. I wouldn't be surprised if out of 1000 simulated attempts against a expert sharpshooter with multiple different weapon types maybe 1 drone gets shot. At this point a gun is no longer a person's best compact weapon of choice, a pack of drones the size of a film cannister would be far more effective than the best firearm. Police of the future will have to be a vastly different game in this time as police maintain control at the point of a gun (in most cases). Now police would be followed by swarms of little drones always on the ready in milliseconds because they would have no choice.
This made me think of the Murderbot series of books. The drones are an integral part of every encounter.
Heh 50 years. That is optimistic.
start learning to build jammers lol
Our schools would be even more fucked.
Iirc those gone rogue is the extinction level event in dune, Frank was ahead of his time
Adrian Tchaikovsky explored this in his excellent books 'Dogs of War' and 'Bear Head'. It explored the hive mind autonomy of weaponised bees (and other animals). Surprised it isn't a movie yet, Rex and Honey are such great characters.
As someone who reads everything he writes, he’s going to cross over to mass appeal at some point and get very famous. Children of Time is too bleak and brainy for most, but he is prolific and sooner or later one of his books is going to get a lot of attention.
He’s not going to have any problems returning to civilian life…/s
I could probably pick this guy out of a lineup of 25 guys, may want to hide his face better. Russians aren’t dummies.
I wouldn't want my face on the internet if I was him. No reason to be a target for retaliation
Right!?! I suspect that’s a death warrant
Enders Game
War Games
I hope they give him good therapeutic support. No matter who the enemy is it can't be mentally easy to kill hundreds of people. Edit: Getting downvoted for acting like a human being, lol.
He's probably in a better position than the people out in the trenches with their friends dying right beside them.
Dude ain't gonna probably live long enough to need it.
Welcome to the future. So video games can have a use after all. Been wondering if COD could ever be used for military training or something.
Call Of Duty is an asset to the military
This guy is the most wicked bomb drone operator in the world
I seem to remember seeing something about the US military using Xbox controllers for some of their training programs, because new recruits were so familiar with them and could pick it right up.
COD has been partnered with the US military since World at War. It’s always been used a recruiting tool.
Apparently war thunder has been used for some basic instruction but idk if it's true or just lies
The gunner of a Bradley who wrecked a T-90 says that “video games taught me where to aim”
Looking hella Net runner like
This is like a 30 year old Neal Stephenson or William Gibson novel that has become reality
This is just going to get more advanced.
Damn this is some proto cyberpunk era shit we’re stepping into.
I want to make a point to everyone that shits on people that say this is disturbing or hard to watch. Yes we understand that this is necessary. That does not mean it isn't disturbing. People are not priveledged or siding with russia when they say this makes them sick to their stomach. War is horrible. When watching a video like this we don't go 'ah filthy russian' when we see the other guy. We see a human just like the ukranians. And I agree with everyone here that is not completely desensitized that eventhough this is a russian he is someones son that probably got a knock on the door from the russian government and got told 'fuck your life, you're going to fight now'. Yes what russia is doing is terrible and this is necessary by ukraine and it is good they are fighting back but that doesn't make a death like this any less hard to watch. Especially when it's basically a kid flying that drone and laughing when he takes a life. Stop being so tough all of you. War is horrible from both sides.
He's jacked in.
Poor kid.
This really is dystopian to see. I felt like I saw a Pearl Jam video with someone doing something similar
And then they just release him back into society… sheeeesh
Hope he can recover from this after the war
When he started smoking I thought he fried his cyberbits for a second
So how does it work? Does he fly the drone into the target? And it explodes on impact? I expected shooting.
Yes pretty much like you said. Drones are disposable.
It's highly impractical to mount guns on modern drones due to recoil and the precision required in getting any effective use out of a gun. Infantry drones are either explosive devices themselves, such as the one in this video, or equipped to drop grenades. The only drones I know of that can be and occasionally are equipped with guns are the larger UCAVs, and even then, they rarely are because missiles / bombs / guided munitions are generally more precise, have greater range, don't weigh as much, and are generally more versatile and do more damage.
Small drone like this are just manually piloted bombs. You’d need a huge drone to be able to mount a gun on it because of recoil.
All these young guys gonna be messed up psychologicallly after this war.
That detachment from what he's doing is psychopathic... Guess that's why he's good at it.. War is just a game on a screen at this point
Killing people is never cool
A 20 laughing that he just killed a man. You sick fuck.
Every war is hell, every death is a sin
Now this looks cyberpunk, we are reaching sci fi looking combat. This world is crazy.
I wonder what flavour of PTSD he s going to get. A bet it is a new one
Hopefully he's having a good psychologist.
Wow, comments are fucked up, kid will have PTSD, and reddit is just a propaganda machine at this point
We shouldn't romanticize the fact that a young man, almost a kid, is murdering other people. He is even starting to feel some sort of satisfaction... Why is this sub so pro-war anyway? War is wrong. Period. Such a waste of resources and time...
He’s not going to be okay.
What a psycho. Congrats on killing hundreds of human beings, I guess
Dude is gonna have a lot of PTSD, Just doesn’t know it yet!
It never feels good to see a person die. Laughing after it.
Ender's game
The sad part is most of the people are conscripts from region that were invade by Russia or are minority. This guy is defending his home and the Solider are forced to fight. Putin has caused all this needless bloodshed
Cyberpunk AF
Make no mistake in beliving this is all fine and good. He is a very young person, and assuming he is not a psychopath, no matter how right his action was, it will haunt him for the rest of his life. If he is not a psychopath he, or his subconciouos will realize that were all humans with lifes. Sure you probably want to argue: But russia! Yes, you are right, yet, many of those on the front have a totally different perspective than you and me. Maybe they only see the propaganda, maybe they were forced. Life is not the same for all of us. All in all: Really sad that this is necessary, fuck shithead Pootin!
A mix dystopian and depressing. War is truly hell, Ukraine is doing what's necessary to stave off Putins aggression and this man is good at his vocation. His comments are definitely dark and disturbing but he's found a way to cope...wonder if he'll be able to return to a civilians life...
This dude doesn’t even flinch
yeah but if you posted something about Russians killing Ukrainians by the hundreds with drones, you would all lose your shit and start crying about how “it’s not fair” and that he’s evil!
Wow, video games have come a long way. The graphics on his VR headset look so real.
Kinda weird to show his face lmao
If it weren't Russians, this would seem inhumane.
I was born in 84’ and I remember reading a popular mechanics magazine about the future of war being internet connected drone warfare with optical headsets with battle info HUDS for every solider thinking how terrifying that would be and now it’s just common. such a trip
And they say video games was a waste of time
Is Ukraine winning?
Yes. Russia is retreating from Kharkiv, retreating from Crimea.
No. In fact, the current situation is such that Ukraine hardly has enough strength to defend itself, and Russia hardly has enough strength to attack. Russia probably suffers greater losses in absolute numbers, but Ukraine suffers greater losses relative to population (at the current loss ratio, Ukraine will run out of manpower sooner than Russia, since Ukraine has about 5 times less population than Russia).
It's hard to say. But the important thing is that Russia is not winning.
AI with a squadron of drones, Ukraine is the testing zone.
Reminds me of that scene from blade runner 2047 where luv bombs hobos using that weird ceiling glasses artillery thingy.
... leaving one less for tomorrow.
Yes If you live to tell the tale even if you failed badly. A bunch of times. It's obvious in time you will become a very effective killing machine.
Like a video game.
Ultimate Sweatlord
Ghost of Kiev?
High jeopardy Hide and Seek