Ukrainian Army to start testing next-generation DJI tracking drones
In addition to its line of camera drones and others developed for specific industries, such as agriculture, security or the educational sector, DJI also has a military technology development branch.
In the United States they have been banned due to questions about the handling of sensitive information, in the United Kingdom they were acquired by its Ministry of Defense and in Ukraine, its army will begin tests with the latest generation of DJI location drones.
Ukraine equips itself with DJI military drones
Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, announced through a telegram post the entry of the DJI Matrice 300 into the Ukrainian military service, an example of industrial grade professional use, manufactured since 2020.
According to the plans discussed by Fedorov, this unmanned aerial vehicle will be used to determine the exact location of enemy forces and also to monitor other factors that influence the security of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Reconnaissance operations of these specimens are not within their main officially declared purpose. However, its first application for war purposes was by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense a couple of months agoin field battle exercise monitoring trials, using the same model.
Officially, it was revealed that the first drones of this new batch were delivered to the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian militia. No additional information has been released about the actual number of these drones used on the territory of Ukraine, during the battles it is still fighting against Russia after the invasion. However, according to a pre-announcementUkraine signed an agreement with DJI for the purchase of 78 Matrice 300 RTK units, with the first units arriving in the country in early August.
Among the outstanding qualities of this DJI drone is its on-board thermal imaging camera, which allows this steering wheel to be operated at night. This model can sustain its flight for 55 minutes on a single battery charge. In addition, its six-direction obstacle avoidance system automatically detects objects up to 40 meters away. Its payload capacity is almost 3 kg.
Other standout features include its IP45 rated weather sealing and can withstand winds of up to 15m/s and the ability to control it up to 15km away from its controller. As if these features were not enough, this model can be controlled by two co-pilots. According to the manufacturer, the 300 RTK has an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) subsystem that can be ‘trained’ during the mission and can then automatically repeat the same flight, while performing checks on the same points of interest.
Ukraine is currently implementing its Army of Drones project, which provides for the smooth purchase and maintenance of new drones, while providing relevant training to new and existing pilots. In total, a sum of almost 13 million dollars has been earmarked for this purpose, with fundraising still ongoing.
