The War of Repeaters: Drones And Widespread Anti-Aircraft Fire
By:Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine ????????
Sloviansk To circumvent the restrictive measuresadoptedby Starlink and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which prevent them from using internet connectivity via Elon Musks satellite constellation,the Russian Federation is now using its own drones as repeaters for a mesh network(in which each drone acts as a node for other devices to connect to).Ukraine has responded in kind, expanding its air defense capabilities to include companies that wish to integrate into the Ukrainian Air Forces unified command-and-control system to protect themselves and the surrounding territory.
This marksa further qualitative leap in warfare, decentralizing and distributing attacking forces and, consequently, defensive capabilities. Ukraine is attempting to extend air defense beyond the traditional state perimeter without privatizing command, to rapidly expand its defensive capacity without diverting additional resources from combat units deployed in the most critical areas.
By the end of March, the pilot project was operational with at least one company, and 13 other groups were in training. On April 17, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorovannouncedthat 19 companies were already involved and that this new approach had already resulted in the downing of a Russian jet drone flying over Kharkiv at over 400 km/h.
This is a crucial point to clarify, becausewe are not dealing with a privatization of war not even along the lines of the PMCsexploitedby the Russian Ministry of Defense but rathera form of organized militarization of the Ukrainian productive fabric under state sovereignty. Last November, the Kyiv government had alreadyauthorizedcompanies in the energy, communications, and transportation sectors to purchase or receive air defense equipment, ensuring that the various groups, appropriately trained and vetted, acted on military orders.
From a multitude of areas in Donbas including the one Im reporting from for this article Alla Perdei and I have shown what happens when the depth of the front collapses: towns with around 12,000 residents still present, like Druzhkivka, are left without water, electricity, a single functioning pharmacy, and a thousand other difficulties that even force rescuers to hide because theyre being deliberately targeted.
The main threat to the cities of Donetsk under Ukrainian control today is posed by KABs: guided aerial and glide bombs, such as the one-and-a-half-ton bomb that yesterdaydestroyeda kindergarten and damaged at least 13 buildings here in Sloviansk.
This means thatadapting Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense is useful but far from sufficient. It is a logical response to the use of Shahed/Geran/Gerbera/Zala drones now also equipped with jet propulsion butit does not replace the need for medium- to long-range defensesthat include interceptors, radar, electronic warfare, and coverage against glide bombs.
The objective reality I face in Sloviansk demonstrates almost the opposite:Russia continues to terrorize the cities of Donetsk with systems that require different, much more extensive countermeasures.
However, the downing of a jet drone is a very serious signal, proving thatUkraine is succeeding in building a layered air defense system in which even the lowest levels are improving in quality.
Jet drones are extremely difficult to intercept. They are faster and, in some iterations, feature a more durable chassis and additional guidance and adaptation capabilities. The Russian Federation is improving control of these drones by equipping them with new targeting methods and integrating them into a mesh network, where they can exchange signals, enabling real-time guidance even within Ukrainian territory and reducing dependence on continuous external connections.
If this trend continues, it will further alter the conceptual geometry of what Alla Perdei and I have called shades of gray, risk gradients that fade as one moves away from the hottest areas within the kill zones.
Relatively dumb one-way vectors become part of a distributed and cooperative penetration system. Therefore, having more shooters distributed across the territory will help Ukraine reduce reaction times and increase engagement points near the objectives to be protected.
The war has entered a phase in which private companies, energy networks, logistics, and factories located in what we once called rear areas are now part of the battlefield.
That is, an architecture of death in which people continue to live.
In 1.518 days of war,we recorded over 250 videos from ground zero and wrote more than 1,500 articles.
We are doing our best to provide genuine, first-hand reports from zones where almost no press dares to go. This means living in a kill zone constantly. We take the risk, but without your invaluable support, our voices would remain unheard and silent. Without brave people sharing our articles from afar, they would remain unread. Our reports would go unseen, and our efforts would be lost. Theres still a lot of work to do here, as the people around us are also in no better situation.
Were renewing ourfundraising campaignand thanking everyone who joins us in helping to restore what Russia is destroying. Moving forward with only a small reimbursement for each article from a brave newspaper that believes in us is extremely challenging. Thats why we are grateful to all the kind people who support us and trust in our mission.
Even a small donation helps.
Well keep you updated on developments.
Thank you all, dear friends ????????
中继器之战：无人机与广域防空火力
作者：Giorgio Provinciali
翻译：旺财球球
乌克兰前线报道????????
斯洛文斯克为规避Starlink与乌克兰国防部采取的限制措施这些措施阻止俄罗斯通过埃隆马斯克的卫星星座使用互联网连接，俄罗斯联邦如今开始使用自有无人机作为中继器，构建一种网状网络，该系统中，每架无人机充当其他设备连接的节点。乌克兰则以其制，扩展防空能力，允许愿意接入乌克兰空军统一指挥控制体系的公司加入，以保护自身及周边地域。
（视频：Alla与我在乌克兰赫尔松报道版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
这标志着战争的又一次质的飞跃，将攻击力量与相应的防御能力去中心化、分布化。乌克兰正试图在不私有化指挥权的前提下，将防空延展到传统国家边界之外，在不从最关键战区抽调额外兵力的情况下，迅速扩大防御能力。
截至三月底，试点项目在至少一家企业已投入运行，另有13个团体在接受训练中。乌克兰国防部长米哈伊洛费多罗夫于4月17日宣布，已有19家公司参与，该新方法已成功击落一架以超400公里/小时飞越哈尔科夫的俄制喷气无人机。
（图：我在俄方摧毁的多处能源基础设施之一现场报道，这些设施本可从乌克兰国防部长提出的新方法中获益版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
这里需澄清关键一点：这并非战争私有化甚至不同于俄国防部所利用的私人军事公司模式而是在国家主权框架下，对乌克兰生产体系进行有组织的军事化。去年11月，基辅政府已授权能源、通信与交通等领域的公司购买或接收防空装备，并确保这些经适当培训与审查的各类主体按军事命令行动。
（图：Alla在被俄方摧毁的赫尔松行政中心报道版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
从顿巴斯多地（包括我为本文报道所在之处），阿拉佩尔代伊与我展示了前线纵深崩塌时的情形：像德鲁日基夫卡这样仍有约1.2万居民留守的城镇，已无水、无电、没有一家可用药房，以及无数其他困难；甚至迫使救援人员不得不躲藏，因为他们被俄军故意锁定为攻击目标。
如今对顿涅茨克受乌克兰控制城市的主要威胁来自KAB类制导空投与滑翔炸弹，比如昨日在斯洛文斯克摧毁一所幼儿园并损坏至少13栋建筑的那枚一吨半的炸弹。
这表明改造乌克兰防空虽有必要，却远不充分。它是对Shahed/Geran/ Gerbera/Zala等无人机（现亦配备喷气推进）的合理应对，但并不能替代对中远程防御的需求包括拦截弹、雷达、电子战与对滑翔炸弹的覆盖。
（视频：Alla与我在乌克兰顿巴斯腹地拍摄的影像版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
我在斯洛文斯克所面对的客观现实，恰恰几乎相反：俄罗斯继续用需要完全不同、规模更庞大的反制手段的系统，对顿涅茨克的城市实施恐吓打击。
然而，击落一架喷气无人机是非常严峻的信号，表明乌克兰正在成功构建分层防空体系，即便是最基层的防御质量也在提升。
喷气无人机极难拦截。它们速度更快，且在某些迭代型号上拥有更坚固的机体与更多制导、适应能力。俄方正通过配备新型制导方式并将其整合进网状网络来强化对这些无人机的控制，使其即使在乌克兰境内也可交换信号、实现实时制导，从而减少对持续外部连接的依赖。
（图：Alla在乌克兰赫尔松杀伤区报道版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
若此趋势持续下去，将进一步改变我与阿拉所称灰色地带的概念几何结构即从杀伤区最激烈处向外逐渐淡化的风险梯度。
相对低端的单向载体会成为分布式协同渗透系统的一部分。因此，在全境范围布置更多射手将有助于乌克兰缩短反应时间，并在需保护目标附近增加交战点。
战争已进入这样一个阶段：那些坐落在我们曾称为后方的私营公司、能源网络、物流与工厂，如今也成为战场的一部分。
也就是说，这是一个人们仍在其中生活的死亡架构。
（图：Alla与我拉在被俄方摧毁的一座加油站报道，该处本可从本文中所述的新型无人机拦截方案中受益版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
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