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[–] 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

And a lot of that can absolutely be used for intelligence work.

I mean, probably, but by the same token, so can binoculars, a smartphone with a camera, a camera with a telephoto lens, a radio, and a ton of other stuff that lots of people will have.

And if you're trying to spy, (a) you don't need a large number of drones


that's important if you're using them as disposable weapons


and (b) my guess is that most of those tiny, short-range ones would be of pretty limited value in most cases.

EDIT: I'd also add that my guess is that one thing that Ukraine is probably not terribly short of is abovehead intelligence. As Mike Kofman pointed out repeatedly, the military value of the intelligence that the US provided to Ukraine is probably greater than the weapons. They've got satellites and a bunch of other sensor platforms. And the US isn't the only one providing intelligence. And Ukraine can already fly drones


albeit perhaps more-expensive, longer-range ones


over Crimea out of unoccupied territory. That's not to say that there isn't still utility to drones


I mean, maybe flying one into a warehouse with an open door is safer than going in person. But by-and-large, my bet is that the most useful intelligence Ukraine gets from people behind the lines isn't aerial photography.

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