Flying Aircraft Carriers: Ukraine Refines FPV Mothership Tactics
A fixed wing carrier with six FPV drones recently shown by UNITED24
Ukraine is fielding carrier drones or motherships to transport FPVs to the target area before launching them. Russian forces reported these as far back as November 2023, and last month Russian news agency TASS stated that Ukraine was carrying out FPV attacks 25 miles or more behind the lines in seven regions suggesting that use is becoming widespread.
The commander of the Typhoon drone unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, who goes by the callsign 'Michael', told me that carrier operations are very much a matter of ongoing development.
'It's a combination of using existing technologies and continuously refining them based on operational feedback,' says Michael. 'It's about optimizing what we already have while layering in new enhancements where needed.'
There are parallels with the learning curve on traditional floating aircraft carriers. The Chinese Navy officially commissioned its first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, in 2012. It took four years of trials and training -- and a number of accidents – before it was declared combat ready four years later. The Chinese already had a navy and air force, but flying aircraft from ships required a whole new skill set for both. New military operations take practice to perfect, and learning under field conditions is harder.
While a single FPV strike may be simple, a carrier with one or more FPVs is different and expensive. The carrier remains in the area to act as a flying radio relay for the FPV and Michael says they would not fly a reusable carrier drone against a low value target.
'If something goes wrong, we risk losing not just the FPV, but the entire system,' says Michael
Ukraine has displayed drone carriers include both fixed wing and multi-rotor types, carrying one, two, four or six FPVs. More might look better, but it brings complications.
'If we're using analog video transmission, for example, each drone must operate on a different frequency to avoid signal interference,' says Michael, 'Managing multiple video feeds, control links, and power systems adds significant complexity, especially under field conditions. It requires precise coordination and a reliable communication infrastructure to ensure everything works smoothly in practice.'
FPV drone on fixed wing aircraft type mothership
So something like the carrier with a single drone supplied to Birds of Magyar may be preferable to a bigger carrier. The choice between fixed wing or rotary carrier also involves tradeoffs.
'When it comes to rotary-wing carrier drones, the main disadvantage is their relatively low operational altitude — typically around 300–400 meters,' says Michael. 'At this height, they are vulnerable to a wide range of threats including small arms fire, other drones, and electronic warfare such as jamming.'
Russia routinely flies interceptor drones against Ukrainian multicopter Baba Yaga night bombers, and a rotary drone carrier would be a prime target.
'Fixed-wing carrier drones, on the other hand, operate at much higher altitudes,' says Michael, which some threats but increases others. 'At these altitudes, they become more visible to enemy radar and are more likely to be targeted by anti-aircraft systems.'
Either way, carrier missions must be carefully planned around the locations of Russian air defenses.
'In many combat zones, the airspace is protected by a mix of electronic warfare tools and radar systems,' says Michael. 'Successful use of such systems requires detailed intelligence to identify gaps in enemy air defense coverage.'
Michael says his Typhoon unit is starting to focus on one particular attack mode for carriers.
Multicopter drone carrier with FPV
'From our perspective, the most promising use case at the moment is integrating a 'lock-on-target' feature, which would allow for more autonomous and precise deployment of FPV drones from the carrier platform,' says Michael.
In this approach the carrier become more like a weapons platform, and the FPVs are more like guided missiles than independent aircraft. Michael previously described his units' work with automated target lock systems for FPVs. These bypass short-range jammers and are a limited but useful way of assisting human pilots.
'Implementing this capability requires additional technical development and system integration, so it's still a work in progress,' says Michael.
There are real benefits in prospect though. Apart from extending range, carrier drones eliminate problems like radio shadow can shorten the time between detecting a target and engaging it. They also open up the possibility of multiple coordinated strikes against long-range targets.
Meanwhile, interceptor operators are reportedly using drone carriers to get FPVs into action rapidly against high-altitude targets. A carrier can patrol at altitude and the FPVs are only launched when needed.
These are very much the early days of drone carriers. In future we may motherships carrying a mixed load of reconnaissance and attack drones, carriers delivering drones which land and carry out ambush attacks, and carriers with unjammable fiber-guided FPVs.
But while they have potential, Michael remains agnostic about whether carrier drones will become more than a special-purpose tool.
'Whether carrier drones become more common in the future largely depends on the operational environment and mission objectives,' says Michael.
But he notes that the extended range is a powerful benefit. A site within range of drone strikes is no longer safe, and the enemy will need to relocate ammunition dumps, fuel storage, repair shops and other facilities several miles further back, not to mention artillery and air defense assets – until longer-range carriers move the red line even further.
Simply possessing FPV carriers makes the enemy's life more difficult, even if they are rarely used.
'Even if a mission is not cost-effective in purely tactical terms, the psychological impact of a successful carrier drone strike — especially deep behind enemy lines — can be significant,' says Michael.
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