Outstanding achievements of soldiers of 63rd Brigade’s unmanned systems battalion and some conclusions based on results of their work

Author: Yurii Butusov

At the solemn ceremony, Army of Drones. Bonus, where the best UAV units of the year were honoured, the unmanned systems battalion of the 63rd Mechanised Brigade was recognised, and the award was received by the battalion commander, Lieutenant Oleh Liashko. It is worth adding some details here.

1. In terms of the number of occupiers killed, the 63rd SMB of USF took an honourable 5th place in the annual ranking. However, only the most famous brigades and regiments operating as part of several battalions are ranked higher. Therefore, if we compare the results of individual battalions among all defence forces, the 63rd Brigade of USF took the actual 1st place. This is an outstanding achievement, the joint effort of every soldier in the battalion, and we have great respect for you.

2. The "Archi" crew of the 63rd Brigade set a record for the number of occupiers killed in a year among all fibre optic drone crews of the defence forces - 589 direct hits! Crew members Artur Doroshenko, Vasyl Zubrytskyi, and Ivan Tsovta received the Order of Courage, and I am surprised that 21-year-old operator Doroshenko has not been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine for such outstanding performance. Three soldiers destroyed six enemy assault companies in just one year!

3. The battalion did not receive any additional funding from the budget, and the distribution of drones from the KSL is the same as for other infantry brigades. Provision is largely carried out through subsidies from local budgets and private funds. But the result is the best among those battalions that received many times more state funding. It is also important to compare the cost of destruction. The mobilisation of resources and their maximum effective use, as well as effective combat planning, are to the credit of battalion commander Oleh Liashko.

4. The USF-63 achieved results by reliably holding its brigade's sector and supporting the neighbouring brigade in the Lyman direction. That is, without wasting time and resources searching for places where there are many targets, but by improving reconnaissance and destruction in its very difficult sector of responsibility.

5. The battalion deploys combat formations, effectively forming a second line of defence for the brigade. If necessary, the operators engage in combat with enemy infantry that manages to infiltrate our forward positions. On 25 October, USF-63 pilots captured three prisoners and destroyed five occupiers in close combat. This order of application allows the brigade to tighten its defence, effectively combat infiltration, and create reliable interaction with the infantry.

6. Analysing the results of the 63rd SMB of USF, it becomes clear that in order to achieve superiority on the battlefield, eliminate 50,000 occupiers per month, and stop the Russian offensive, the following factors must be taken into account:

- Finally realise that UAVs are not an elite army within a regular army, but are the same troops with the same tasks on the battlefield as the infantry. Stop inflating staff numbers and creating new independent UAV units; most UAV units should be incorporated into infantry brigades and army corps responsible for defending their specific areas. Then UAV units will be truly integrated into infantry combat formations and, instead of searching for targets on foreign broadcasts, will take responsibility for the comprehensive development of reconnaissance and strikes in the zone. If the commanders of infantry brigades and corps do not understand and do not learn how to use drones, then there is no need to create parallel structures; instead, such commanders in the frontline forces should be replaced.

- Realise that UAVs alone cannot win a war, break through or defend the front line. UAVs only win in cooperation with infantry and other forces and means, and the development of UAVs should be aimed at protecting and supporting the infantry, which ties down the advancing enemy and prevents it from secretly gaining a foothold.

- Allocate targeted funding primarily to those UAV units of the ground forces that are responsible for their section of the front line. If a brigade holding the front line has no Mavics, no double batteries, no antennas, no means of destruction, there is no doubt that the enemy will infiltrate here and succeed. The resources needed to hold the front line can be calculated. Drones are most effective when tactics, technology and organisation are carefully planned, and we have enough qualified commanders and fighters to do all this right now.

Yurii Butusov, Censor.NET