Ukraine Teaches NATO It Takes 60 Hours To Train Competent Drone Pilot

Ukrainian instructors are telling NATO militaries whom they have been asked to train on drone warfare that it takes approximately 60 hours to mold a 'competent' drone pilot. 

Of that time, half is spent on a simulator and the rest on actual flying in the field. The success Ukraine has had against Russia in drone warfare suggests that they have analyzed their requirements and honed their skills accordingly. JL

Sinead Baker reports in Business Insider:

Sixty hours is typically the minimum requirement for pilot competence, according to Ukrainian troops training British and other NATO forces. a decent pilot needs at least 30 hours on a simulator and 30 hours of actual flying in the field. At about 60 hours, "they are pretty competent at being able to fly different types of drones.' After that, improvement comes with repetition and exposure to more systems. The US army has also been learning from Ukraine about the value of simulators in drone training at its Unmanned Advanced Lethality Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama — designed to help the service catch up on drone warfare

As Russia Lost Starlink, Ukraine Attacks Gained At Huliaipole, Dobropillia

The Ukrainians know an opportunity when they see one. Russia's smuggled and stolen Starlink terminals were taken out of service by SpaceX, disabling Russian drones and disrupting communications between Russian units. 

Seeing and hearing this, the Ukrainians have launched counterattacks across the front, but especially at Dobropillia north of Pokrovsk and at Huliaipole in the south. The result has been the recapture of territory as the Russians are degraded. JL 

David Axe reports in Trench Art:

For the Ukrainian armed forces, the sudden Starlink gap was an opportunity. A few days after Russia's terminals went down, Ukrainian forces counterattacked in several sectors along the 1,200-km front line—especially in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. On Feb. 5, the Ukrainian assault forces west of Huliaipole attacked along nine vectors. Other forces raced south to join the assault units already in the area. The 425th Assault Regiment—previously fighting around Pokrovsk—brought its newly delivered ex-Australian M-1A1 Abrams tanks. The regiment has up-armored some of the M-1s with Russian-style "hedgehog" anti-drone armor.

AI Cost 2nd Largest In US History, More Than Highways, Railroads, Moon Land

The amount of money tech companies are spending on building data centers and other infrastructure to support their development of AI is approaching the largest in US history, exceeding, in adjusted terms, the investment in the nation's railroads, interstate highway system - and only slightly less than what it cost to acquire the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States. 

The only question is whether this investment will pay off like those did. JL

Meghan Bobrowsky and colleagues report in the Wall Street Journal:

It’s dwarfed only by the Louisiana Purchase, completed in 1803, which doubled the size of the U.S. It's bigger than the railroad expansion of the 1850s, the Apollo space program that put astronauts on the moon in the 1960s and the decadeslong build-out of the U.S. interstate highway system that ended in the 1970s. We're talking about data centers being built in the AI boom. Microsoft's, Amazon's, Alphabet's and Meta's capital spending has increased as a percentage of their revenues in the past few years. In 2026, Meta’s spending could amount to more than 50% of its sales for the first time ever.

Europe's Attitudes Towards Russian Deserters Are Hardening, Limiting Asylum

European countries are becoming less sympathetic to Russian army deserters or those fleeing Russia to avoid conscription. 

The reasons for this hardening of attitudes make sense: too many war crimes committed by too many Russian soldiers; a majority have criminal records and could resume their illegal careers; having grown up in Russia they may be hostile to western values - and they could become subject to recruitment by Russian intelligence services which dont take no for an answer. In sum, Russians have generally supported the Ukraine invasion and now live in a culture alien to that of the civilized world. JL

Anna Matveeva reports in Novaya Gazeta:

Officials say they regard anyone who fought in the Russian military as a security risk, noting that participants in the war in Ukraine are often traumatised, frequently have criminal records, may be hostile to Europe and European values, and could be vulnerable to recruitment by the Russian intelligence services. “Overall, Europe’s attitude towards Russian deserters and other asylum seekers is becoming noticeably harsher than it was in the first year of the war. In Germany, for example, the Merz government has attempted to crack down on asylum, and the authorities are assessing asylum claims less sympathetically and refusing them more often.”

Russian Recon Group Staging 'Flag Selfie" In Zaporizhzhia Oblast Wiped Out

The Russian military is not a learning organization lesson #1 billion: Unable to actually capture and occupy Ukrainian territory in most sectors of the front, Russian commanders have resorted to sending small teams into villages or housing clusters to take selfies of themselves raising the Russian flag and then claiming a gain. 

But the tactic has become suicidal as Ukrainian drone teams monitoring the front detect them almost immediately and the eliminate them. JL

Stanislav Pohorilov reports in Ukraine Pravda:

Ukrainian forces from the 33rd Assault Regiment wiped out a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group in a Zaporizhzhia oblast village where they were attempting to stage a 'flag selfie." "The enemy, as always, colours in its maps and then, in a bid to catch up with its 'gains', sends in a sabotage and reconnaissance group to put up their  flag. The outcome of such 'photoshoots' is always the same: the enemy group is wiped out and the Ukrainian flag flies over Prydorozhnie."

Ukraine Obliterates 6,000 Russian FPV Drones In Hit On Storage Depot

Ukrainian drones and missiles obliterated a Russian military warehouse in Rostov containing 6,000 FPV attack drones and their components. 

The long distance strike was designed to degrade Russian drone capabilities in the northeast sector and disrupt the Kremlin's offensive plans in that area of the front. JL

Kateryna Hodunova reports in the Kyiv Independent:

Ukrainian forces destroyed 6,000 FPV (first-person-view) drones and their components in a major overnight strike on Russian military targets overnight on Feb. 9. Ukraine targeted a Russian drone warehouse in the city of Rostov-on-Don, destroying three containers filled with FPV drones and their components. The General Staff added that several additional containers were damaged. The attack underscores Ukraine's focus on disrupting Russian logistics. 

AI Firms Demand "996" Employee Effort But Declining Productivity, Quality Follow

Many AI companies are promoting a "996" work week - 9AM to 9PM, six days a week - 72 hours, almost double the traditional 40 hour week. 

Tech leaders generally and AI zealots in particular appear to believe this is a sign of commitment - and a badge of honor - which also addresses the FOMO mindset that someone else is going to get 'there' first and reap all the financial rewards, as well as fame. But the 40 hour week, far from being a sign of indolence, was actually arrived at by time and motion experts working for Henry Ford who wanted the optimal amount of time his workers could put in to maximize productivity and profit. Studies have shown repeatedly that working longer hours for too great a length of time inevitably leads to declining productivity, effectiveness and quality of output. JL

Theo Leggett reports in the BBC:

AI puts a premium on long hours, typically 9am to 9pm, six days a week (hence "996"). The development of AI has been at a breakneck pace, and companies around the world are now working flat-out to develop ways in which it can be monetised. Huge amounts of money are being ploughed into AI ventures. The ever-present fear is that someone else will get there first. "We look for people who are addicted. We're selling 996 as a badge of honor." (But) studies have shown that as hours go up, productivity increases - then once a threshold is reached it starts to decline again as physical and mental exhaustion sets in. 'The thing young founders get wrong is they view hours worked in and of itself as necessary to think of themselves as productive. And that's where the fallacy lies"