The latest shipment of weapons from US to Ukraine includes a significant number of "switchblade" drones (technically "munitions" as they are single use).
This is how they look:
As you can see, they look like a crap taken from a "Five below" shop, uh? And that is not that far from the truth to be honest. This costs around 6000 USD and comes in two flavours - tank destroyer and ant-personnel. It works like this - your average Joe McSoldier carries a tube that is not too heavy and requires 10 minutes to get ready. This happens well away the front line and well away the usual artillery range. You do not need an exceptional IQ to use this.
The drone is launched and can roam around for 40 mins or so and cover a few tens of miles. It carries sensors and the like and, once the operator decides there is an interesting target, it fixes on it and "kamikazes" onto it - be a tank, other vehicles or a platoon having tea.
Total cost of the operation:
Drone: 6000 USD
Infantry grunt: 30 USD per one hour of work.
Total loss for the enemy:
If hits a T-90: 2 million USDv + trained crew of 3
If hits a T-72: 0.6 million USD + trained crew of 5
If hits other stuff: 100 to 500k USD.
The big bingo is when you hit a S-400 anti-air system. We are talking millions USD.
Let's say the enemy shot's it down with a SAM:
Cost of a stinger or similar: 40k
If you are stupid and use a S-400: 10M USD
I am sure that most people in the forum understand that this is a game changer. Had Ukraine had 100 of these when the 40 mile long column was a sitting duck on the road to Kyiv, the war would have been quite different.
Remember,
if you are a Russian soldier, you do not have to die for Putin. Sell your vehicle or aircraft to me or other honest buyers and see your family again some day or go west and relax all cool.
