This shortened the time required to detect and strike Russian targets by 90%, writes The Wall Street Journal, citing technology providers and operation participants.
Read more «Panathinaikos» owner again lost his temper: on the court he cursed both the referees and Ataman
Images from US satellite operator “Vantor” reach drone operators’ screens in just 15 minutes, bypassing centralized verification in Kyiv, which used to slow down intelligence gathering by several hours or even days.
This technology is the result of joint work by “Vantor”, Dutch geospatial intelligence company “Bravo1Alpha”, US company “Persistent Systems”, and Ukrainian defense company “Burevij”.
As The Wall Street Journal notes, the implementation of the technology was the first known instance where unclassified commercial satellite imagery was directly provided to soldiers to enable near real-time combat decision-making.
The same satellites are used, for example, to monitor illegal fishing and update Google Maps.
“Shortening the time from target detection to strike is a key tactical-level trend in this war,” assessed military expert Franz-Stephanas Gady, founder of “Gady Consulting”.
The new technology saves time and money, a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone operator using it told newspaper journalists. Thanks to satellite imagery, his unit no longer needs to launch reconnaissance drones, which are expensive and can be jammed or shot down by the Russians.
During the “Starfall II” operation in spring, a Ukrainian unit from the 422nd brigade destroyed billions of dollars worth of Russian objects and assets in two and a half weeks. According to operation participants, one of the targets was an ammunition depot in the occupied territory, detected by analyzing satellite images of a former grain warehouse.
By comparing the new image with pre-war photos, the soldiers realized that its purpose had changed, and also noticed fresh tire tracks characteristic of military vehicles unloading ammunition. After launching medium-range attack drones, the Ukrainians destroyed the warehouse.
Such drones have become one of the main weapons of Ukrainian defenders in recent months. They are used to destroy air defense facilities in occupied territories, warehouses with ammunition, equipment and food, command posts, supply routes, as well as reserves along the Novorossiysk federal highway – the “land bridge” to Crimea.
Using “Vantor” software, the military can compare new satellite images with archival ones, as the 422nd brigade unit did in the case of the ammunition depot, and monitor infrastructure changes and object movements.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence monitors large areas and records target movements. The software also creates three-dimensional models that operators can use to calculate the optimal drone flight path.
10 “Vantor” satellites cover 7 million square kilometers of the Earth’s surface daily, flying around 12 to 15 times, WSJ explained Will Cocosas, the company’s transformation director and former US Navy SEAL unit fighter.
Typically, the coordinates indicated in “Vantor” photos are within 5 meters of the actual object’s position, which is sufficient to destroy a drone with a 50-kilogram warhead, Ukrainian military personnel stated.
Read more Improved Lithuanian pole vault record
