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Forbes: Ukraine wipes out two Russian drone operators with HIMARS, borrowing US Afghan tactics

In Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian intelligence tracked a Russian drone team and called in a HIMARS strike to eliminate the operators before launch.
byYevheniia Martyniuk
17/02/2025
2 minute read
Forbes: Ukraine wipes out two Russian drone operators with HIMARS, borrowing US Afghan tactics
Ukrainian intelligence tracked a Russian and called in a HIMARS strike. Photo: Screenshot from the video
Forbes: Ukraine wipes out two Russian drone operators with HIMARS, borrowing US Afghan tactics

Ukrainian intelligence forces executed a precision strike against a Russian drone team in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, employing multiple military assets, including HIMARS, surveillance drones, and attack drones, Forbes reports.

“It might seem like overkill, but there’s a reason Ukraine allocated a surveillance drone, HIMARS, and attack drones to take out a two-man Russian drone team,” reports Forbes war correspondent David Axe.

The operation began when a Ukrainian Shark surveillance drone spotted a civilian truck carrying an Orlan drone team. The Orlan, a key Russian reconnaissance tool, plays a crucial role in frontline intelligence gathering.

Determined to destroy the drone before it could launch, Ukrainian intelligence requested army support. A HIMARS-fired M30 rocket struck the vehicle, followed by FPV drone strikes that ensured total destruction. They’re trying to get “left of the boom,” hitting Russian operators before their drones take flight.

“Struggling against Ukrainian jamming, Russian forces are turning to fiber-optic drones, which use cables instead of radio signals and are unjammable,” Axe notes.

Ukraine’s strategy mirrors US counterinsurgency tactics against bomb-makers in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, this advantage faces complications as US President Donald Trump pushes Ukraine to transfer half of its rare earth mineral rights in exchange for past military aid.

“We have to get something,” Trump stated. “We can’t continue to pay this money.”

The situation is further complicated as Russian forces, having lost over 15,000 military vehicles, increasingly rely on civilian vehicles for military operations.

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