This Drone-Versus-Drone Kill In Ukraine Could Be An Air Combat First

The video, just 16 seconds long, began to circulate widely on social media today and has attracted much commentary in the process. The footage is reportedly shot from a Ukrainian Armed Forces UAV, a Chinese-made DJI Mavic-type quadcopter, but no details about the type are discernable from the video. The camera aboard the drone observes what is purported to be a Russian (or pro-Russian) controlled quadcopter, which approaches the Ukrainian UAV before seemingly moving to collide with it, losing at least one rotor blade as a result, then plummeting toward the ground. The footage is undated but is said to have been taken in the skies over the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Descriptions of the incident as a “WW1-style duel” or of the Ukrainian drone “destroy[ing] a Russian opponent” are a little fanciful, to say the least. It isn’t clear to what degree the operator of either the Russian or the Ukrainian UAV was attempting to take down their opponent, but, based on the video,…