A video of a Ukrainian soldier reportedly reveals obsolete tech in Russian drones

In the raging battle between Russia and Ukraine, Russia’s small drones have been reported to be taking a deadly toll on Ukrainian forces. A new video, however, is revealing that the highly efficient precision drones are not as advanced as one might expect.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry shared a video on Sunday that shows a soldier allegedly dismantling a Russian military surveillance drone and pointing out several highly unsophisticated features. In fact, seeing what the whole drone consists of it seems like something a schoolchild could put together.

A generic handheld Canon DSLR

The drone being taken apart is an Orlan-10 model that fell on Ukrainian soil. The first thing the soldier points out is that the drone's camera is a simple generic handheld Canon DSLR, the kind you can find on any tourist's camera. How can such a complex war tool have such a common feature?

Unpacking the ?? drone "Orlan" ? pic.twitter.com/0E3pwyN64l

— ArmyInform (@armyinformcomua) April 10, 2022

The soldier then goes on to show how the cap of the drone's fuel tank consists of a top and a lid of a plastic water bottle. "This is seriously real, not fake," the soldier says in Russian. "We even thought of sending this cosmic technology to our Western partners."

Covered in duct tape

He also showcases how the drone is being held together by simple duct tape in several key areas. IE could not independently verify whether the footage was real and where and when it might have been shot, but it does offer some key insights into the technology of the ongoing battle.

Ukraine has been sharing many videos in an attempt to show its success in the war. Last month, Ukraine's defense ministry posted a video on Twitter where it claimed that its forces had blown a Russian helicopter out of the sky and its Commander-in-Chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, took to social media to publish drone footage of a Ukrainian attack on a Russian post outside of Kyiv.