ZALA is on the lookout; *The Lancet* strikes
Unmanned aerial vehicles are now an essential tool for carrying out any combat mission. Operators from the ZALA «Lancet» UAV unit of the «Vostok» military group spoke to a reporter from the newspaper «Suvorovsky Natisk» about their work on the front line. Excerpts from this conversation can be found in the latest edition of the column #operators.
A soldier with the call sign «Electric» is a ZALA UAV operator in one of the units of the «Vostok» military group. The aircraft he operates is capable of flying for several hours at a time and operating tens of kilometres behind enemy lines.
«Our tasks are enemy target detection, fire adjustment and, if necessary, the use of »Lancet' (a loitering munition - Ed.). The quality of the image we receive is pleasing, both day and night. We can see any person, let alone equipment, even though we can fly at an altitude of several kilometres," says Electric.
Naturally, the adversary is attempting to counteract the operation of our apparatuses by affecting them with electronic warfare (EW) measures. Therefore, the Electricians' crew approaches the performance of each task creatively.
«We're looking for corridors, approaching from different directions. If they're »pressuring' us with electronic warfare in one direction, we fly another way and still find a path free from enemy interference and carry out our reconnaissance," explains the interviewee.
The commander of the UAV unit, call sign «Technician», previously served in reconnaissance, has extensive combat experience and compares the process of finding corridors in electronic warfare zones to chess:
— Everything is always varied when we talk about the conditions in which we work. Every flight takes place in a new environment, so we don't fly the same route for the same task. We are constantly looking for ways and means to solve the tasks set for us. Our enemy is not stupid and tries to block the most dangerous directions, and we try to circumvent them. It turns into a kind of chess game: who can outwit whom.
During flight, the operator controls the aircraft using a ground control station (GCS). This comprises a ruggedised laptop, an antenna system, a switching unit, a joystick and a power cable. In addition to direct control, the GCS’s software and hardware allow the operator to carry out pre-flight checks, launch and land the UAV, create flight missions, monitor payloads, and receive and process incoming data. According to the operator with the call sign «Bliznets», with this station he can operate both ZALA reconnaissance UAVs and the «Lancet» loitering munition.
— We can see everything we need from above. Right down to car numbers or exactly what the enemy is up to at the stronghold. We can conduct reconnaissance for several hours, and if necessary, we can also take out the target with a «Lancet», — explains Blyznets.
From the newspaper «Suvorov's Onslaught» of 29 January 2025, No. 6
