Innovative Thoughts in the Scope of the Russia-Ukraine War

Successful Practices of the Ukrainian Army:

Undoubtedly, the most talked about and most studied war in the corridors of the military headquarters of the world armies is taking place in Ukraine these days. It continues to draw attention as a war in which the reflections of many new techniques and technologies on the land are seen, as well as continuing. For this reason, a war is taking place in front of our eyes, in which many issues can be observed and evaluated, from the base of military philosophy to the final battlefield practices.

It was expected that the Ukrainian army would fight with the organizational structure and understanding of war inherited from the Soviet Union, to which it was a former member. Ukraine, which could not speak out against the occupation of Crimea by the Russians in 2014, had to make major innovations in its army in order not to face such a situation again. Having transformed its army, albeit limited, with the support of the West, Ukraine began by asking some basic questions:

• What are we doing wrong and should we change it?
• What are we doing right and should we continue?
• How should we harmonize everything in between with our new structure and make it as efficient as possible?

It is understood that the foremost of the things they attach importance to in this regard is "to care about artillery and rocket forces and to continue all their attempts towards indirect fire support means". One of the strongest damaging elements against the Russian advance was artillery, rocket and mortar forces. For this reason, among the first wave of heavy weapons aid directed to Ukraine by NATO countries:

Supply of more modern artillery systems and ammunition. Addition of classical force multipliers such as artillery locator radars to the equation. The Ukrainian army also took part in the new generation force multipliers, especially tactical and mini UAVs (drones) that can work with artillery.

Its main innovation in this field is the long-range artillery fire arrangement with tactical UAVs such as Bayraktar TB2; We also saw mortar fire arrangements with short-range commercial drones. In this way, we saw that with the first artillery shots, the possibilities of hitting the target were increased and the targets could be suppressed with much more successful shots.

It is considered that some innovative initiatives can be made that can be added to this successful practice and pave the way for armies like Ukraine to be more successful in the field of operation. Meanwhile, the most important factor in the success of the Ukrainian army has been: the Russians' weaknesses in digital technologies and anti-drone capabilities.

Therefore, in the face of another enemy with high and modern electronic warfare capabilities, the Ukrainian army should not be expected to achieve the same successes with the methods they used against the Russians. For this reason, the Russia-Ukraine war requires instructive new ways of thinking for armies that will want to use Ukrainian methods against armies that may outperform the Russians in the field. In this context, if we want to do some brainstorming and brainstorming, I would like to list my development proposals below in order to shed light on possible similar studies.

Proposition 1: Using the Cannonball as a Camera

As the base system, let's take the 120 mm, NATO standard, vertical rifled mortar produced by MKEK. The HY1-12 mortar has 18 kg of demolition grains. weight and a maximum of 8 km. can affect distance. Therefore, the cargo (carrier) ammunition of this air is 10-12 kg. It can be assumed that it can carry a heavy load to this range. So, how can we send a load to the destination?

For example, in the terminal phase of the projectile, we can think of the projectile as a drone detaching from the shell ammunition, by neutralizing the fall acceleration with a passive gas thrust. A drone with the task of holding on to a certain point in the air and transmitting images. Even if the current weight capability is enough to keep the drone in the air for more than an hour, 10-15 minutes is enough for us. Because we can aim to direct the battery to a more energy intensive use in order to transmit a simple and programmable encrypted camera image. Therefore, a maximum of 8 km. Let's assume that it would be sufficient to target a beginning such as Also 120mm. I think it will be sufficient to choose a diameter that we can fit many things like, without additional miniaturization.

This drone will not only serve to transmit images to us. It can also be used as a landmark or reference point. Because, although the first ammunition does not provide a full hit in classical mortar fires, they are very useful in terms of providing correction data for accurate hits that will follow. So the ammunition is not wasted. We have 'developed' a camera system that can hang in the air and we have all of its mathematical data. In other words, even if completely mindless ammunition is used, the hit rate of the following shots will be greatly increased.

Proposition 2: Adding a Light Source to a Cannonball

Let's put a light source on this drone, which we sent to the target with a mortar shell, that will operate in visible or invisible wavelengths and will only illuminate its upper facade. In this way, we have an active landmark.

Intelligent munitions and their guidance systems are expensive. Often a detecting sensor feeds a minicomputer, which in turn manages the motors of the fins to guide the ammunition. However, this method is not the only solution, and it also has very affordable alternatives. For example, the mortar ammunition made by the Chinese company Norinco, with its circular gas outlet in the center, offers a very cheap solution.

There are also ways to make this type of ammunition more affordable. For example, one might consider using a solid-state memory structure with fully preloaded patterns instead of a computer. This requires an active triangulation point. In addition, it is sufficient to enter the information that you will go this distance in this degree of triangulation before throwing the ammunition. In this way, it will be possible to make more accurate shots at a much cheaper price and to observe the results.

Proposition 3: Use of External Drones in the Target Area

You know the rods, which are widely used not only in the military but also in the civilian field, which emit chemical light when broken. In military use, they also have invisible wavelengths such as IR and UV. In our current scenario, let's assume that we have a smart multi-use military drone that is already observing the area to be under fire. STM has solutions in this sense.

Let's imagine that in the first ammunition to be fired, there is an additional compartment that will distribute 4-5 sticks that emit light at an invisible wavelength to the target area. Of course, since a very small area will be sufficient for this job, the explosive feature of the ammunition will also be preserved.

The drone looking from the outside will randomly scatter on the land, combine these resources in a linear fashion and create a simple shape. This shape can again be used as a landmark. Thus, a much cheaper and much higher number of accurate shooting will be possible not only with special ammunition, but also with an external and multi-use drone.

Of course, the system in question can later be added to mortar, artillery/howitzer, rocket launcher systems of different diameters. It can also offer options for users of different non-NATO systems. However, at the initial stage, the 120 mm HY1-12 Grooved Mortar produced by MKE can be considered. Thus, it can be used in a rapid manner without much need for R&D and test processes.

Modern technology should not be used on the battlefield only to gain new and expensive systems. It is also important to increase the capabilities of legacy, simple and affordable systems. Having a command of technology, approaching the issues from a multidisciplinary perspective is of great importance for the development of new and innovative solutions.