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Brovdi, who transitioned from a civilian businessman trading grain before 2022 to leading thousands of drone operators in Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), reflected on how cheap civilian quadcopters evolved into the primary striking force on the European battlefield—and offered a sharp warning to Western military leaders.
From water-filled condoms to deep strikes
Brovdi recounted the origins of his unit, Magyar's Birds, during the defense of the Kherson sector in April 2022. Trapped under heavy Russian artillery with 27 men, his team lacked visibility over Russian positions.
"An old-school commander told us: 'Drones are bulls**t; I need you to walk on foot through the gullies,'" Brovdi recalled.
But the unit started figuring out how to make use of UAVs, rigging hand grenades to Chinese commercial drones.
“They would take condoms, fill them with water, hang them from trees and posts, and fly those FPV sports drones at targets—sort of aiming and practicing flying,” he added.
Read also: How Ukraine's drone chief plans to force Russia out of Crimea
Four years later, Brovdi’s command structure oversees 12 specialized units that have recorded over 400,000 tracked targets and 110,000 verified destroyed pieces of enemy equipment and personnel.
“For me, this is purely math. It’s about optimizing resources and leveraging calculations—preserving their effectiveness and achieving the best possible outcome from their application, so they don’t take risks in vain, but rather take risks to achieve results,” said the drone commander, attributing his management approach to his early training in mathematics and conducting orchestras as a child.
The 5-step defense blueprint for NATO
Addressing NATO and European defense officials directly, Brovdi outlined five mandatory steps Western militaries must execute immediately to adapt to modern air-domain threats:
・A 2–5 km border buffer zone: Establish a continuous automated drone-engagement zone along national borders where any unauthorized enemy movement is detected and neutralized immediately.
・Hardwired fiber-optic networks: Deploy a dense matrix of fiber-optic communication lines to forward launch sites, allowing a single pilot in a remote bunker to command 10 to 15 drones simultaneously.
・Dedicated anti-drone air defense layers: Build specialized mobile interception networks specifically designed to destroy reconnaissance UAVs and cheap attack drones like the Iranian-designed Shahed ($50,000–$70,000 unit cost).
・Specialized unmanned systems brigades: Form standing 300-crew drone brigades capable of providing complete recon, strike, mining, and logistics coverage across a 100-kilometer sector.
・Operational deep-strike squads: Immediately train and equip 30 to 50 deep-strike crews capable of hitting high-value strategic targets deep inside enemy territory.
"If Putin sends 300 Shaheds today, in a year he will send 1,000 a day," Brovdi warned. "If a country faces 1,000 drones on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they will raise a white flag so large there won't be a pole long enough to hold it.”
Shooting down $50,000 drones with $4 million Patriot missiles will ultimately bankrupt any nation, he stressed.
Even if active hostilities cease through geopolitical negotiation, Russia's imperial ambitions will not vanish, Brovdi argues.
"Even if Putin dies or is replaced, his successors will mentally strive for revenge," Brovdi stated, adding that Ukraine’s future will permanently depend on technology, adaptation, and maintaining the technological upper hand.
Read also: Zelenskyy honors Svyrydenko, Shmyhal, Magyar, Biletskyi
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Nation
Author: Богуслав Романенко
