Ukrainian troops, faced with thousands of Russian mines in a grueling counteroffensive, are experimenting with using thermal imagers to detect them. This was reported by CNN. Повідомляє Mind.
In particular, the channel's journalists watched as the Armed Forces of Ukraine placed a thermal imaging camera on a common "commercially available" drone at dusk. The camera hovers over minefields and detects dozens of thermal signatures. Some are craters, but many are mines barely hidden beneath the surface. The heat they collect from the bright summer sun during the day is retained when the sun goes down, making them more clearly visible on the thermal camera.
Drones with thermal cameras are often available to the Ukrainian military and are relatively cheap – about $5000 each. But the scale of the task is enormous: an average of up to five mines per square meter – and this is on more than 180,000 square kilometers of mine-affected territory, according to Ukraine's official estimates.
Members of the 15th National Guard near the village of Robotyno, where heavy fighting is taking place, told CNN that this tactic is an effective means of detecting mines. The footage provided to CNN shows specialized Ukrainian charges with detonating devices eliminating at least part of the threat.
A team working with drones on the frontline near the village of Robotyno told CNN how heavily mined the areas around them were.
"When we went into one strip of trees, we found up to 53 booby traps," said Oleksandr of the 15th National Guard, "and it wasn't just one grenade – we call it a 'bouquet' – grenades on top of other grenades."
Anton, another guardsman, spoke about the emotional challenges at the front.
"There were many scary moments. Every time you go on a mission, you step over your fear. Because who else would do it? No one else. And if they send someone else and something happens to them, you won't forgive yourself."
Нагадаємо: Кримський міст зруйновано (відео).
