Rob Lee
@RALee85 • 702,997 subscribers
Senior Fellow @FPRI. Previously @USMC, @ColumbiaSIPA, @CentreAST. Focused on Russian defense policy.
Shorts
Videos
Video from Russia’s Rubicon Center of FPV strikes on gas stations in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.
Rob Lee123,600 views • 1 month ago
Last month, I interviewed Lieutenant Colonel Vladyslav "Shram" Tovstyi, the commander of the 38th Marine Brigade's (38th Separate Marine Brigade ⚓️🪖🇺🇦) Corsair UAS Battalion for the Ukraine Military Podcast. (00:00) Introduction (03:35) The background of the Corsair Battalion (04:40) What is the current situation and the effect of weather on the battlefield (06:50) Russian tactics (08:25) Assessment of Russia's Rubicon Center (09:35) Effect of Russia scaling its unmanned systems forces (10:45) What was the effect when Russia lost access to Starlink? (11:20) What effect is Ukraine's Middle Strike campaign having on the front line? (13:43) Urban warfare in Myrnohrad vs fighting for tree lines (16:20) Role of fiber optic cable FPVs and what is the ratio of fiber optic to radio signal FPVs from both sides? (19:35) Use of Starlink on FPVs and heavy bomber drones (20:55) Accuracy of fiber optic cable and radio signal FPVs and how many FPVs are used per day (25:15) The role of tall buildings in drone warfare (26:45) UGV and UAS logistics (29:10) How many heavy bomber drones do you lose per week and what are the typical missions? (30:30) How many UGV missions are conducted per day and how many UGVs do you lose? (32:09) Assessment of the E-points system (34:15) What is the structure of your UAS Battalion? (35:00) What lessons should other militaries draw from this war about drone warfare? (37:15) What effect would another Russian mobilization have on the war? (39:40) How many Molniya and FPV do you face per day?
Rob Lee172,878 views • 1 month ago
Both Russian UGVs were struck by FPVs from Ukraine’s 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Rob Lee2,543,395 views • 2 years ago
Video of a Russian assault group from the 123rd Motorized Rifle Brigade's Zarya battalion that uses motorcycles in their assaults on the Siversk front. The bikes allow them to reach trenches faster and they are harder to spot. Their assaults are done in coordination with artillery and FPVs.
Rob Lee2,308,014 views • 2 years ago
Video from Russia’s BARS Sarmat Center of Yak-52 and An-2 aircraft used to launch UAS interceptors.
Rob Lee118,471 views • 1 month ago
At the end of August, I interviewed Colonel Serhii Shatalov, commander of Ukraine's 37th Marine Brigade. (0:39) Shatalov's military background and experience in the war (3:28) The Krynky operation (7:55) Current situation and Russian tactics (9:10) Planting flags and social media (10:50) Infiltration tactics (14:00) Defensive tactics (17:00) Percentage of Russian casualties from UAVs (18:30) Use of fortifications and defensive tactics (20:40) When was the last time you saw a mechanized assault? (21:15) 10:1 Russian manpower advantage (22:25) Russian assault units (22:50) Russia's use of fire support (24:00) How far is Russian artillery from the FLOT? (24:40) Performance of DPICM (26:10) Main threat to Ukrainian artillery (28:00) Countermeasures against UAVs (29:40) Fiber optic cable FPVs and countermeasures (31:50) Electronic warfare (32:15) Effectiveness of HIMARS (33:25) Accuracy of FPVs (34:30) Is Russia closing the gap with UAVs? (36:00) Russia's Sudoplatov and Rubicon units (40:00) UAV vs UAV fight (41:00) How many Russian units are you facing? (42:00) How does Russia employ glide bombs? (42:40) Role of infantry and casualty evacuation (44:20) Leading mobilized servicemen (47:00) Performance of AMX-10 and NATO equipment (49:40) What lessons should NATO learn? (50:25) How would you structure a Marine battalion? (51:20) Effectiveness of mortars and MK-19 (51:45) Have UAVs made artillery or tanks obsolete?
Rob Lee729,012 views • 10 months ago
![Russian telegram channels posted videos of fiber optic cable FPV strikes on a Ukrainian Abrams tank in Kursk oblast last week. Aside from a concussion, the crew survived without injury and made it back to friendly lines. Michael Kofman and I spoke to the commander of the tank from Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade about what happened, and here is what he told us: (tweeted with his permission) "That's our tank. But they only posted two of the strikes. Yesterday [from last week] was the first time that the crew survived multiple hits while inside a disabled Abrams. Actually, there were 4-6 direct hits. The crew survived, and even without injuries. God bless America. Fiber-optic FPVs. Between four and six hits within like 2 minutes. I believe that at least one more got stuck in the net. Two more missed several minutes before. They apparently hit the engine. They were unable to penetrate either the turret or the hull elsewhere while we were inside. Although they tried and had a lot of time. As I said, this tank had a unique 'cope cage' (actually, 'cope netting') and a lot more ERA than an average Abrams. We – the crew – designed the arrangement of the ERA completely on our own based on an analysis of the previous hits on all the other Abrams tanks and our own knowledge of the weak spots, and that's why we still live after so many simultaneous strikes. And that's why the Abrams rocks. Would be impossible on a [Russian/Soviet] T series tank." Russian FPV crews hit the tank with several more FPVs after it was abandoned, but the tank was not destroyed and might still be salvageable. Because of recent advances, Russian forces may capture it. When I asked how they made it back to friendly lines, "On foot. It was close to the Russian positions. We finished the combat mission and drove back just 1 km from the Russians or even less. We could not evacuate because the FPVs were coming one after another. When I finally could hear no sound, we just jumped out of the tank and ran to a treeline. They were tracking us, so a mortar started working with some more drones, but we crawled away through the treeline. In the end, in a spot still under FPV control, our company commander rushed in and took us away."](https://image.24vids.com/tw-1869871334857085282/ext_tw_video_thumb/1869848736936923136/pu/img/HUGaf0HoaYDeFI1M.jpg)
Russian telegram channels posted videos of fiber optic cable FPV strikes on a Ukrainian Abrams tank in Kursk oblast last week. Aside from a concussion, the crew survived without injury and made it back to friendly lines. Michael Kofman and I spoke to the commander of the tank from Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade about what happened, and here is what he told us: (tweeted with his permission) "That's our tank. But they only posted two of the strikes. Yesterday [from last week] was the first time that the crew survived multiple hits while inside a disabled Abrams. Actually, there were 4-6 direct hits. The crew survived, and even without injuries. God bless America. Fiber-optic FPVs. Between four and six hits within like 2 minutes. I believe that at least one more got stuck in the net. Two more missed several minutes before. They apparently hit the engine. They were unable to penetrate either the turret or the hull elsewhere while we were inside. Although they tried and had a lot of time. As I said, this tank had a unique 'cope cage' (actually, 'cope netting') and a lot more ERA than an average Abrams. We – the crew – designed the arrangement of the ERA completely on our own based on an analysis of the previous hits on all the other Abrams tanks and our own knowledge of the weak spots, and that's why we still live after so many simultaneous strikes. And that's why the Abrams rocks. Would be impossible on a [Russian/Soviet] T series tank." Russian FPV crews hit the tank with several more FPVs after it was abandoned, but the tank was not destroyed and might still be salvageable. Because of recent advances, Russian forces may capture it. When I asked how they made it back to friendly lines, "On foot. It was close to the Russian positions. We finished the combat mission and drove back just 1 km from the Russians or even less. We could not evacuate because the FPVs were coming one after another. When I finally could hear no sound, we just jumped out of the tank and ran to a treeline. They were tracking us, so a mortar started working with some more drones, but we crawled away through the treeline. In the end, in a spot still under FPV control, our company commander rushed in and took us away."
Rob Lee1,358,003 views • 1 year ago
