A Russian Truck Led Ukraine Tracking Drones To Hit Huliapole Ammo Depot

Patience. 

That virtue is increasingly leading Ukrainian forces to much bigger targets in Russian occupied lands, such as this one in the Huliapole sector. JL

Shawn Reed reports in Medium:

A Russian ammunition truck passing through Huliaipole was the target to which they could draw their attention to locate a much bigger ammunition target. Ukrainian forces followed it to a hidden hangar, patiently waited for the vehicle to get to the storage position and then killed it using one FPV drone.  The strike triggered the detonation of about 60 152 mm artillery shells. The whole operation lasted less than three and a half hours from the time of detection to the time of the strike.

A Russian ammunition truck passing through Huliaipole was the target to which they could draw their attention to locate a much bigger ammunition target. Ukrainian forces followed it to a hidden hangar, patiently waited for the vehicle to get to the storage position and then killed it using one FPV drone.

The strike triggered the detonation of about 60 152 mm artillery shells.

Says Ukraine’s 7th Air Assault Corps, the whole operation lasted less than three and a half hours from the time of detection to the time of the strike.

The important thing about the strike is not just the number of shells that were broken. The Russian truck was a good sign that a big stockpile of ammo was uncovered.

Ukrainian forces didn’t rush to the attack the vehicle, but tracked it and observed its movements. The truck pulled into a hangar and was in a sheltered environment, which turned to a target.

Next, it was transferred to the pilots of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment, which is part of the 7th Air Assault Corps of Ukraine.

One FPV drone crashed into the ammunition truck within the shelter.

The result was confirmed by the pilots of the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade, “Birds of Magyar.” The operation in Ukraine is described in the Ukrainian account as a coordinated chain from the moment of detection, on the transfer of the target to the strike and back to reconnaissance.

Video on Telegram, FPV drone strike

This was a good example of the changing landscape in battlefield logistics with drone warfare.

A truck isn’t just a car that can be wrecked on the street. It could help to indicate the location of ammunition or fuel and other supplies. A first pass then, may therefore generate a bigger target than an attack at once.

The timing is also important.

The attack was less than three and a half hours after Ukrainian forces detected the truck, they say. This quick turnaround time between reconnaissance and attack will allow Russian forces less time to shift the ammunition around or relocate the vehicle.

The strike is also part of a larger Ukrainian campaign in the vicinity of Huliaipole.

The region has become a major component of the Russian Southern flank offensive with the aim of Russian troops being able to outflank Ukrainian positions around Orikhiv and gain access to the broader Zaporizhzhia region.

The Huliaipole sector has been named among the “most extreme” on the southern front by the Institute for the Study of War.

Russia’s supply system is being attacked by Ukraine more and more.

In recent days, Ukrainian strikes were aimed at bridges close to Polohy used to transport heavy equipment and ammunition towards Orikhiv. The 7th Rapid Reaction Corps stated that those attacks were targeting Russian logistics.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are also penetrating Russian drone-control sites and other rear targets.

According to the September 22 assessment, Ukrainian troops fired six to eight shots at Russian drone-control points in the 7th Corps’ territory, mainly against Russian drone organization Rubicon. The entire operation was characterized by ISW as a campaign to disrupt Russian logistics and operations in the near rear.

The area affected by these strikes is also expanding.

In the Huliaipole area, Ukrainian authorities have termed a “kill zone” the zone behind the front line, where they claim a drone has become a primary source of casualties.

This makes it more difficult for Russian forces to transport vehicles, ammunition and other supplies without being detected.

This alters the significance of reconnaissance.

A drone doesn’t necessarily have to destroy the first thing it encounters.

Can observe, track and recognize something else of greater significance.

In the latter, a single truck took Ukrainian troops to a stockpile of ammunition, replete with dozens of artillery shells.

The outcome demonstrates the continued significance of logistics in today’s war. Ammunition must be continually supplied to frontline troops and ammunition that is destroyed before it reaches a firing position is not available for future use.

With all roads, bridges, vehicles, storage facilities and command posts vulnerable to drones, transporting supplies takes a lot more trouble.

The Huliaipole strike thus has a broader significance.

It wasn’t just the FPV drone that struck the final blow.

It was the whole system — recon, tracking, quick targeting and damage assessment.

That system could be used to make a normal logistics move an opportunity to score a much larger stockpile.

As Ukraine continues to do this throughout the Huliaipole region, it’s creating a problem for the Russians as the further their ammunition and equipment get closer to the field, the more opportunities Ukrainian drones have to locate them.