РЕБ не перешкода: Як українські дрони навчились автоматичному наведенню

April 8, 2026·24 min·2 clips

The 2024 Crimea PVO destruction mission was rehearsed entirely in a simulator first, because the drones flew via satellite with a 2-3 second delay that required special training.

1. Army FM interviews Vladislav Plaksin, founder and visionary of PG Robotics, a Ukrainian miltech company developing multi-use combat drones and the UFDS flight simulator. 2. Plaksin is both a company founder and a practitioner with 16 personal combat outputs; his training partner organisation DFC uses exclusively combat-experienced instructors. 3. The episode's core argument is that reusable drones with built-in safety and AI outperform FPV kamikazes on cost-effectiveness, and that simulation is an under-used tool for combat preparation. 4. PG Robotics' flagship Lucky Strike drone is designed for multi-use rather than kamikaze deployment; professional teams have recorded 240-300 take-offs on a single board, compared to one per FPV. 5. The drone automatically limits engine load to 80% to prevent burnout, stabilises flight to remove common pilot errors, and allows a first-time user to fly safely within minutes—Ukraine's Digital Minister Mykhailo Fedorov hit a target 3-5 minutes after his first flight. 6. Lucky Strike carries 1.5-2.5 kilograms and can perform daytime strike, reconnaissance, or supply missions where larger drones like the Vampire are too vulnerable. 7. Lucky Night is a night-capable version addressing the same tasks in darkness, developed after drones began being shot down regularly at night. 8. Lucky Shot is an AI-guided drone that bypasses Russian EW by using Doodle Labs American military-grade multi-frequency communication, automatically hopping between frequencies when any one is jammed. 9. After the operator points the Lucky Shot's camera at a target from up to 1 km, the AI captures it and the drone completes the strike in fully autonomous mode—no radio connection required for the terminal phase. 10. Russian EW operates at ranges up to 15 km, which also creates radio horizon problems; Lucky Shot's autonomous final-phase guidance was developed specifically to address this combined jamming-plus-range challenge. 11. A current limitation is range: Lucky Strike's effective strike range is up to 7-10 km, while front-line positions near Pokrovsk are now routinely located 10-12 km from targets, reducing the drone's utility in those sectors. 12. The UFDS simulator is free to all Ukrainian military personnel and all Ukrainian schools; a civilian version is available on Steam for 400 hryvnias. 13. The simulator replicates real physics including engine burnout at 100% throttle, and commanders can use it to test whether a mission is feasible in given wind conditions before deploying. 14. The 2024 Crimea air-defence strike used a special simulator mod that replicated a 2-3 second satellite-link delay; the strike unit trained entirely in the simulator before executing the real mission. 15. Lucky Strike 2, a new model, adds zoom, night camera, 3 kg payload capacity, 40 additional minutes of flight, and integrated Doodle Labs military communication in a standard configuration. 16. Plaksin's long-term vision is a national drone championship pipeline that creates certified pre-enlistment pilots, allowing recruits to arrive in the army with 200+ logged simulator hours and skip basic infantry training. 17. A civilian Steam version of the simulator is planned to add anti-aircraft drone interceptors in 3-4 weeks, coinciding with Ukrainian government plans to let citizens intercept Shahed drones. 18. The interview is technical and direct, conducted in a studio Q&A format with specific numbers, product names, and combat examples throughout. 19. Best suited for Ukrainian military personnel, defence technology enthusiasts, and drone operators interested in EW-resistant systems. 20. Listeners seeking geopolitical analysis or non-technical coverage of the Ukraine conflict will find this interview too hardware-focused.

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