This is the 72nd UAS incident report by Red Six marking the end of six years of study of UAS
developments, operations, and the implications of unmanned systems for our readers.
Throughout the month of October major military operations continued in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and other conflict zones where the operational environments were significantly impacted by UAS and counteractions.
In the Ukraine-Russian War, Kyiv expanded its use of large 1-way attack drones to strike targets deep inside Russia. Their Russian enemy continued to pursue technologies to improve the effectiveness of their drones including the use of fiber optically controlled small FPV drones and the integration of EOIR cameras into their large Geran-2 UAS. Both sides energetically work to develop techniques to improve the survivability of their forces from drone attacks. For example, Russia is using dummies of soldiers as decoys for drone protection. Sometimes defeating a drone attack comes down to simple luck as seen in an incident in Kursk where a Russian soldier saved his vehicle’s crew by throwing his rifle and hitting a Ukraine FPV drone an instant before it would have killed them.
The employment of drones in Africa’s conflict zones is growing. This is especially the case in Sudan where the Rapid Security Forces (RSF) are fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of the country. To reach their targets, the RSF is using imported 1-way attack drones and large, industrial rotary wing UAS. Drones are also being used by rebels and government forces in Western Africa. In the Sahel, the Tuaregs are bombing government troops with small multirotor UAS, while the government is conducting counterinsurgency operations with large Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 tactical UAS. Despite IDF accomplishments in attritting the terrorist organizations arrayed against Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iranian-proxies, and the Houthi rebels all continue to strike Israel with drones. During the month, Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq were both able to launch deadly attacks against IDF installations, while the Houthis were able to reach the port city of Ashkelon with an explosive drone. In a most worrisome incident, Hezbollah was able to hit the home of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Other significant incidents: In Syria, a downed, handmade fixed-wing drone provided evidence the ethnic-Uyghur Turkistan Islamic Party is still active there. Images posted online indicate the Pakistani Taliban might begin using drones in their attacks on government forces near the Afghan border. In Yemen, the Houthis showed they continue to grow their UAS capabilities after a large, previously unseen Houthi VTOL was recovered near Marib.
Concerning Law enforcement: A Federal Court sentenced a Chinese-national under the
Espionage Act after he used a camera drone to take pictures of U.S. Navy shipyards in the area around Hampton Roads, Virginia. A television crew disrupted a watch party for the Boston Celtic’s opening basketball game when their UAV crashed and injured several bystanders. Border Patrol Agents along the U.S. southern border were warned narcocartels may be using handheld jamming systems to disrupt law enforcement UAS operations.