Ukrainian Paratrooper Blasts Five Russian Drones With Rifle

By: Warren Gray

Copyright © 2024

“Junior Sergeant Dmytro A. shot down four FPV drones

and one Mavic UAV with a Kalashnikov rifle during

a few days at his position.”

— Ukrainian Paratrooper Brigade press release, 12/26/23

The New Voice of Ukraine media outlet announced on December 26, 2023, that “Ukrainian paratrooper uses Kalashnikov rifle to down five Russian drones.” Junior Sergeant Dmytro A. (full last name withheld for security reasons) heard the sound of enemy drones approaching his entrenched position at the front lines of battle, and realized that most Russian drones now carried improvised warheads or weapons for attacking Ukrainian troops on the ground, so he bravely climbed out onto the raised berm in front of his trench to draw the drone operator’s attention toward himself. When the drone spotted him and moved in for the kill, Dmytro shot it down with just two rounds from his Kalashnikov assault rifle (probably an AKS-74M in 5.45x39mm). This was a duel to the death, in which he could not afford to miss, or make a single mistake, but his brigade declared that he ultimately emerged victorious, not merely once, but five times, during the week leading up to Christmas 2023 making him a drone-killing “ace.”

“I clearly understood all the risks associated with this variant of the fight, because if I made a mistake, I had no chance of survival. But I was confident, because I have always been a good shot, and I was well-prepared,” stated the sergeant. After his first successful duel, three more $500 Russian FPV (First-Person-View, or remote-controlled via video piloting) drones such as the Ovid (“Gadfly”) or Joker models, attacked his position, but the sharp-eyed paratrooper shot them all down.

Russian Ovid (“Gadfly”) FPV drone with improvised warhead. Photo credit: Ovid Production Group

However, the relentless Russians sent a more-expensive, Chinese-manufactured, DJI Mavic quadcopter drone ($2k to $5k, depending upon configuration), with a German Hasselblad L2D-20c  camera and a heavy, 6.6-pound, KZ-6 warhead, to attack Dmytro’s position the next day. DJI, the world’s leading drone-maker, was sharply criticized in March 2022 for supplying drones to Russia and Ukraine, and announced a month later that it was suspending all shipments to both countries, but U.S. officials believe that DJI (wholly funded by the communist Chinese government) lied, and continued to supply the Russians. Furthermore, DJI Aeroscope receivers allow Russian drone operators to track Ukrainian drone operators on the ground, an exceedingly dangerous capability.

DJI Mavic 3 Thermal drone ($5k) Photo credit: CDW

Nevertheless, Sergeant Dmytro efficiently shot down even the new Mavic quadcopter drone and its makeshift warhead, thereby saving his own life and the lives of his fellow paratroopers within the same trench line. The truly remarkable aspect of these drone-killing events was that he did it all with his ordinary, issued, Kalashnikov assault rifle, not a high-precision, custom sniper rifle.

Kalashnikov AKS-74 paratrooper assault rifle. Photo credit: Militaria.wz.cz

Russian drone warfare is a relatively new concept, and there are no official drone-pilot schools in their armed forces yet, no Ministry of Defense directives to implement drone strategy, no official acceptance of the remarkable contributions that drones can make in modern warfare, and drones are not yet issued through normal supply channels.

In fact, most Russian drones are currently launched and operated on an ad hoc basis by either irregular units, mercenaries, or pro-Russian, militia groups in the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist regions. Higher command levels in regular, Russian Army units continue to resist the new concept of remote-control drones, and as one British reporter stated, “the technology is moving too fast for the Russian military’s sluggish pace of adaptation.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army (and the British Army) has purchased SMASH 2000L computerized, optical sighting systems, manufactured by the Israeli defense firm Smart Shooter. These are used in the counter-drone role, and both the Army and the U.S. Marine Corps have already acquired a limited number of older, SMASH 2000 variants for the same purpose.

M4A1 carbine with SMASH 2000L sighting system, used against a drone. Photo credit: U.S. Army

As the brutal war in Ukraine continues for nearly a second full year since the unprovoked, Russian invasion of February 24, 2022, drone warfare remains one of its salient features, and armed, lightweight drones with improvised weapons continue to wreak havoc on both sides. It’s remarkably encouraging to hear heroic stories of those who risk their lives to bring down Russian drones in order to protect their fellow soldiers.

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Warren Gray is a retired, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer with experience in joint special operations and counterterrorism, and is an NRA member. He served in Europe (including Eastern Europe) and the Middle East, earned Air Force and Navy parachutist wings, four college degrees, and was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Intelligence Operations Specialist Course, and the USAF Combat Targeting School. He is currently a published author, historian, and hunter.