South-Carolina

How Ukraine created an ‘Army of Drones’ to take on Russia

Published

1 year ago

June 20, 2023

How Ukraine created an ‘Army of Drones’ to take on Russia

In the sprawling farmland south of Kyiv, where the sunflowers are just beginning to sprout, Ukraine’s drone community gathered to show how the military is upgrading what’s already one of its most effective weapons of the war.

Drones are buzzing in every direction on a sultry summer’s day, as if someone poked a hornet’s nest. And that’s exactly the vibe Ukraine’s Army of Drones is trying to create.

A combined effort of the military, the government and private groups, the Army of Drones has turned into a substantial military force. It has enlisted actor Mark Hamill, of Star Wars fame, as a spokesman, as well as other celebrity ambassadors. The overall effort is led by the country’s 32-year-old deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

“In order to win in this fast-paced technological war, the government needs to think and act as a technology company, to be agile, to make fast decisions and to move faster,” Fedorov said.

He spoke to a gathering that included Ukrainian drone makers and private groups that are training Ukrainian troops how to become drone pilots.

Ukraine turns to drones to counter Russian air power

The Russians have a much larger and more powerful air force, with its fighter jets outnumbering those in Ukraine by an estimated margin of 10-to-1.

But so far, the Ukrainians have mostly neutralized this threat in two key ways.

First, Ukraine’s air defenses shot down so many Russian fighter jets in the early stages of the war that Russia rarely sends them into Ukrainian air space anymore. Russia is believed to have more than 1,000 fighter jets that it has essentially grounded because of the risk to the planes and pilots.

Second, the Ukrainians have employed drones creatively for both reconnaissance and attacks. The drones have nowhere near the firepower of fighter jets. Hence, Ukraine has sought U.S. F-16s since the war began, and now has pledges that it will receive them in the coming months. Still, the drones have allowed Ukraine to surveil and harass Russian troops in ways that would otherwise not be possible.

Much of the current talk about weapons focuses on big-ticket items the U.S. and other Western countries are shipping to Ukraine. Forty-ton tanks. Huge artillery guns. Massive anti-aircraft systems.

But Ukrainians are fighting effectively with weapons that are small enough to hold in one hand.

With Ukrainian government support, private groups have trained 10,000 drone pilots in the past year, and now plan to train 10,000 more in the next six months.

“Drones are critically important for us. They’re critical to our combat advantage, and that’s why we’re scaling this,” Federov said.

/ Kateryna Malofieieva / NPR

Kateryna Malofieieva / NPR

Members of Ukraine’s Army of Drones showed off their drones at an event south of Kyiv on June 15. Russia is countering Ukraine’s drone program with electronic jamming, which breaks the signal between Ukrainian drone operators and their drones. Ukraine says its working on software to prevent Russian jamming.

Training drone pilots in a week

Anton Frolov heads one of these private drone training programs, called Raven, which creates military pilots with a course that lasts just five days.

“You can learn to fly in one day,” said Frolov. “But you have to fly in difficult conditions. You have to know how frequencies work, how the enemy is fighting against you.”

The Ukrainians have received cutting-edge military drones from the U.S. and Turkey.

But mostly they rely on popular Chinese models built for civilians. They can be bought straight off the Internet for $2,000 or less.

The Ukrainians primarily use the drones for reconnaissance, one of the reasons they often seem a step or two ahead of the Russians on the battlefield.

But Ukrainians also rig the drones with a claw to carry a small explosive, like a grenade. It can be dropped with great precision into a Russian trench, or even into the open top hatch of a tank.

A cat-and-mouse game

The Russians are fighting back with electronic jamming that cuts the signal between the Ukrainian drone operator and his drone. It’s become a huge problem, Frolov said.

“At the very beginning of this war, the flight distance of the civilian drone was five to seven kilometers (three to four miles),” he said. “Right now, we have only two kilometers (just over a mile) because of jamming system, because of this system that’s getting tougher and tougher against us.”

He also said that Ukrainian operators can only keep a drone aloft for a couple minutes before the Russians find it and knock it out.

Ukraine, in turn, says it’s working on software that can prevent Russian electronic jamming.

Russian drone use has been more limited and less effective than Ukraine’s. In recent months, Russia has relied heavily on military drones from Iran, called Shaheds. By one recent count, Ukraine has shot down more than 900 of the 1,200 Shahed drones fired by Russia, a rate of more than 75%.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is also trying to ramp up drone production at home, which is still limited.

“The demand from our military is much bigger than the manufacturing capacity for Ukraine,” said Maksym Muzyka, whose company makes an attack drone called the Punisher. “So right now, till the end of the year, we will be completely full with orders.”

As Ukraine to scrambles to get as many drones as it can, one result is that the military now has a hodgepodge of systems.

“They’re buying dozens of different types of drones from different manufacturers. It’s a nightmare from the point of view of logistics, of training, of usage, of service,” said Muzyka.

But somehow, it’s been working. Most importantly, he said, drones are saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, doing the dangerous reconnaissance work troops had to do in the past.

Greg Myre is an NPR national security correspondent. Follow him @gregmyre1.

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South-Carolina

Dawn Staley shares how South Carolina has responded since loss

Published

3 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

Dawn Staley shares how South Carolina has responded since loss

South Carolina had its run of 43 straight wins come to an end this past Sunday as Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks suffered a 77-62 loss at UCLA.

Staley said after the loss and ahead of the matchup with Iowa State on Thursday that she thought her team would respond the right way. Needless to say the Gamecocks did against Iowa State, pounding the Cyclones 76-36 on Thanksgiving Day.

“That’s what a team does. This is a resilient group,” Dawn Staley said. “This is a team that obviously hasn’t dealt with a whole lot of losing. It’ll shake you for a moment.

“We’ve got a 24-hour rule. Bask in the glory of a defeat and you handle a defeat. And you handle it with grace, but you handle it with learning lessons. Things were exposed and hopefully we can fill some of those holes and get back to happier times.”

It was certainly a happier time for South Carolina on Thursday. The Gamecocks led Iowa State 19-3 at the end of the first quarter and 35-9 at halftime.

South Carolina went on a 32-0 run at one point in the first half and easily handled an Iowa State team that was ranked No. 15 nationally.

Dawn Staley said ahead of the game that she wanted her team to play better offensively and it did. South Carolina shot 45.3 percent from the floor against Iowa State after connecting on only 36.4 percent of its attempts against UCLA.

“Our offense, just getting better looks and getting better ball movement,” Dawn Staley said of where South Carolina needed to improve. “The ball has been sticking too much to individual players and it’s stagnant.

“We need to get our bigs involved, so we’re going to look to get them involved in positions they can score, whether that’s two feet in the paint or hitting mid-range shots. If you’ve got 3-point range, you can take good, fluid, rhythm 3s.”

South Carolina relied on a balanced scoring attack against Iowa State as senior forward Sania Feagin and freshman forward Joyce Edwards led the way with 13 points each.

The Gamecocks will be back in action on Saturday when they face Purdue in Fort Meyers, Florida. Tip off is set for 11 a.m.

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South-Carolina

No. 15 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson: 5 Things to Watch For

Published

11 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

No. 15 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson: 5 Things to Watch For

Clemson and South Carolina will renew their annual rivalry on Saturday when the No. 12 Tigers host the No. 15 Gamecocks at high noon in Death Valley.

This will be the 121st all-time meeting between the two schools but with College Football Playoff implications on the line for both teams, this year’s matchup is arguably the biggest to date in the long, storied history of the series.

The Gamecocks (8-3) come in riding high, having won five straight, while the Tigers (9-2) are in the midst of a three-game winning streak.

5 Things to Watch

1. Strength vs. Strength: Football is generally a game of matchups and one of the biggest in this game is Clemson’s much-improved offense against that stout South Carolina defense. Make no mistake, this as good of a defense as the Tigers have seen this season. It’s comparable with Georgia’s and nobody has forgotten how this offense looked that day.

The Gamecocks will bring an elite-level defensive line to town and there are guys on the backend of that defense that will be playing on Sundays. If Clemson has any shot at winning this game, the offense is going to have to be efficient and balanced. Scoring touchdowns is a must. Last year the offense failed to score a touchdown in this game. A bunch of field goals will not cut it on Saturday.

2. Create Turnovers: Whoever wins the turnover battle probably wins this game. The Tigers are +13 in the margin and South Carolina has been prone to turning it over at times. It’s something they’ve gotten a little cleaned up in recent weeks, but they still have lost 11 fumbles this season. They are only +3 in the margin. Clemson being able to create some takeaways, while continuing to protect the football, should prove to be beneficial.

3. Pressure the Quarterback: There are two things the Tigers absolutely can not do. Number one, they can not afford to allow LaNorris Sellers to get comfortable in the pocket. For most of the season, Clemson’s pass rush has not been what most believed it would be, but in the wins over Virginia Tech and Pitt, it’s started to come around. Getting after Sellers is a must. South Carolina has allowed 36 sacks this season, but just four in the past three games, with three of those coming in the win over Wofford.

Second, the Tigers must keep Sellers contained in the pocket. If running lanes are left open, Sellers will find them and next thing you know he has darted for 20 yards or more. He is as good of a running quarterback as Clemson has seen and athletic quarterbacks have been an issue for this defense at times. He is very quick to make something out of nothing. And then when they get hands on him they must bring him down. Sellers is really good at running through contact.

4. Klubnik Time: There is no getting around the fact that Cade Klubnik is drastically improved over what he was at this point last season. There is a night and day difference. Having said that, if Clemson is going to win this game, Klubnik is going to have to bring it. This South Carolina defense is going to bring the heat and it is under those conditions that the junior quarterback has, at times, faltered.

Klubnik is the unquestioned leader on the offensive side of the ball, and it is him that will need to lead the Tigers to victory. Making good decisions and keeping his poise will be key. However, it’s his legs that could prove to be the difference.

5A. Slow Down Running Game: How frustrating has it been watching the Tigers’ run defense this season? Clemson is allowing right at 150 yards per game on the ground. They don’t even rank inside of the Top 50 in rush defense.

Rocket Sanders is averaging right at five yards per carry and is a hard-nosed runner. However, as noted above, it’s Sellers that might be more dangerous. The redshirt freshman has right at 700 rushing yards, so the Gamecocks rely heavily on him making plays with his legs.

If Clemson is going to come away victorious, they need an effort similar to what we saw in the win over Virginia Tech, when the Tigers totally shut down that high-powered ground game of the Hokies. Getting Wade Woodaz back would help tremendously, and it sounds like he’s trending towards playing. Either way. slowing down that ground game and making that offense beat you through the air is crucial.

5B. No Special Teams Miscues: If there was ever a game in which you needed to be sharp on special teams, this is it. No fumbles on kickoffs and none on punt returns. Not to mention, you can’t let the Gamecocks block any field goals. Nolan Hauser has had six field goals blocked this season, all due to the protection breaking down in front of him. Those are huge momentum shifting plays, and Clemson can ill-afford to have any of those this week.

A limited number of signed replica road signs from Cade Klubnik are available! Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!

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South-Carolina

How to watch South Carolina vs Iowa State women’s basketball: Time, channel, live streams

Published

19 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

How to watch South Carolina vs Iowa State women’s basketball: Time, channel, live streams

The 4th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team next ships off to the Sunshine State for a matchup with No. 15 Iowa State at the Fort Myers Tip-off. The game is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage on FOX and streaming on-demand.

How to watch: Live streams of the South Carolina vs. Iowa State game are available with offers from FuboTV (free trial), SlingTV (low intro rate) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).
For a limited time, FuboTV is offering $30 off the first month after the free trial period. With the $30 offer, plans start at $49.99.

#4 South Carolina Gamecocks (5-1) vs. #15 Iowa State Cyclones (5-1)

NCAA women’s basketball matchup at a glance

When: Thursday, Nov. 28 at 1:30 p.m. ET

Where: Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Fort Myers, Fla.

TV channel: FOX

Live streams: FuboTV (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate) | DirecTV Stream (free trial)

Both South Carolina and Iowa State lost their first games of the 2024-’25 season within the past eight days, with the Gamecocks falling on the road to No. 5 UCLA (77-62) on Sunday and the Cyclones to Northern Iowa (87-75) last Wednesday in Cedar Falls. South Carolina is now 5-1 in its defense of the 2024 NCAA women’s championship with a top-10 win over NC State highlighting the team’s early-season résumé. The Gamecocks will be Iowa State’s first ranked opponent after falling to No. 2 seed Stanford in overtime (87-81) in the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament

South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Iowa State Cyclones: Know your live streaming options

FuboTV (free trial) – excellent viewer experience with huge library of live sports content; free trial lengths vary; monthly rate after free trial starts at $59.99 after current $20 discount offer.
SlingTV (low intro rate) – discounted first month is best if you’ve run out of free trials or you’re in the market for 1+ month of TV
DirecTV Stream (free trial) – not the same level of viewer experience as FuboTV, but the standard 7-day free trial is still the longest in streaming.

South Carolina and Iowa State are set for a 1:30 p.m. ET start on FOX. Live streams are available from FuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and SlingTV (low intro rate).

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