Elite Ukrainian drone unit becomes combat brigade, triples size in major expansion

Ukraine’s renowned drone warfare unit, the Madyar’s Birds Regiment, is set to expand into a brigade, marking an unprecedented transformation in its operational capacity, the unit’s commander Robert Brovdi, known by his call sign Madyar, announced on 10 December.

The unit, officially known as the 414th Independent Strike Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment, currently operates as part of the Ukrainian Army’s Marine Corps. According to the commander, it will undergo a significant expansion that will triple its personnel strength and number of detachments while increasing its combat capabilities.

“No one has withdrawn us from the war, we continue our intensive activities on a wide strip of the front, from KUNR (“Kursk People’s Republic,” a humorous term for Kursk Oblast, ridiculing Russia’s so-called people’s republics in Luhansk and Donetsk, – Ed.) to practically the entire length of the strip in the East, where we alone cover over 140 kilometers,” Brovdi said in a video address. He added that the unit operates quietly in certain areas, declining to specify their locations.

Madyar’s Birds

The Madyar’s Birds has an impressive combat record, including a 110-day defense of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, until ordered to withdraw in March 2023. It also conducted operations in Kherson’s Krynky, destroying Russian soldiers and equipment on the Russian-occupied left bank of Kherson Oblast until the marines’ withdrawal from the beachhead.

In January 2024, Brovdi reported that his forces had been in combat for 692 days, participating in battles for Kherson, Krynky, Soledar, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mariinka in Donetsk Oblast, and Urozhaine in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Sixteen fighters from the unit have been awarded the Order of Courage.

Later this year, the “Birds” joined the fighting against the failed new Russian invasion of Kharkiv Oblast and later took part in Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

In late November, the Ukrainian Army’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited the frontline in Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. There, he held meetings with commanders, including Brovdi, whom he decorated during the visit. The meeting may have included discussions about the unit’s approved expansion to brigade status.

Expansion

The Madyar’s Birds’ expansion marks a remarkable evolution in the unit’s history. Starting as a mere shooting platoon in Territorial Defense with a handful of commercial drones in February 2022, it progressed to an aerial reconnaissance group by May 2022. By March 2023, it had become a strike drone company, first within territorial defense and later as part of the 59th Motorized Infantry Brigade.

The unit’s transformation continued with its elevation to an independent Marine Corps drone battalion in January 2024, followed by its upgrade to a regiment in July 2024. The current expansion to brigade status, starting December 2024, represents the latest step in this rapid development.

“This unprecedented pace of evolution reflects the tempo of this war itself,” Brovdi noted, highlighting the extraordinary transformation from a strike drone company through several military branches to an independent brigade within one year.

Drone warfare

Drone warfare innovations have become a hallmark of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Unmanned vehicles of various sizes – operating in the air, on land, and at sea – play a pivotal role, with technology advancing rapidly on both sides.

At the outset of the all-out war, Ukraine employed commercial quadcopters for reconnaissance, while Russia utilized fixed-wing drones and laser-guided loitering munitions. Over time, Ukrainian forces adapted drones to drop munitions, transforming reconnaissance tools into minor attack platforms.

Later, repurposed agricultural heavy drones began carrying larger munitions, conducting night bombing raids against Russian equipment.

Ukrainians then introduced FPV kamikaze drones, precision weapons equipped with anti-tank or anti-personnel warheads. This innovation revolutionized the battlefield, exposing infantry to unprecedented vulnerability.

In response, Russia adopted both munition-dropping and FPV capabilities, eventually developing fiber-optic-guided FPV drones. These drones bypass electronic warfare barriers that disrupt radio signals, a technology Ukraine is working to match.

Ukraine further pioneered FPV drones as interceptors, destroying hundreds of Russian reconnaissance drones.

Additionally, Ukraine was the first to deploy naval drones against Russian ships. Combined with missile and aerial drone attacks, this campaign significantly weakened Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, forcing the remaining ships to retreat to remote ports beyond the reach of maritime drones.

Both Russia and Ukraine continue to innovate and deploy land drones, remotely controlled robotic systems used for tasks such as mining, supply delivery, and casualty evacuation.  

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