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One drone was “snuffed out” in a video from the field, but others kept flying.
COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating
Russian fighters claiming to serve with the remnants of Wagner Group say they are sending drones into the field against their enemies – and they want the world to see what they’re doing. One group made a video to showcase its drones in action, filming their activities in an unknown location. The demo vid appears to be from a training course, and shows mixed results. Some of the devices go haywire in flight, while others remain airborne. What is the BLUF on these drones? Let’s see what the self-proclaimed “Musicians” show us.
[Update: The vid was removed from our channel for violating some unexplained policy. I am looking for the original vid]
The video sets the mood with closeups of a truck that is covered in camouflage netting. Against an ominous soundtrack, men gather near the truck, preparing their drones.
“Are you ready?” one man says in Russian. “Let’s fly.”
The scene shifts, showing the truck interior with its mix of contents, including a popular figure from Western culture, a Minion window doll. The doll is from the “Despicable Me” film series, where the lead character, Gru, is a riff on the GRU, the Russian Federation’s foreign military intelligence agency.
The bulk of the demo video consists of the truck traversing a dirt road, with the screen toggling between inside the cabin and overhead views of wintry terrain.
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The men refer to their drone as a Tumbler.
Marketed extensively in the U.S., the Tumbler-Cam Quadcopter is sold out at a number of outlets, including Walmart. Powered by battery, it can fly for up to seven minutes on a single charge. It can execute 60 degree turns, plus flips and rolls, and can maneuver in all directions.
“At the beginning, it will be difficult to learn to fly,” the Tumbler-Cam manual warns. “Seek the guidance of an experienced pilot to learn faster.”
Critics say that the Tumbler doesn’t hold up well in light wind, which may have come into play during the alleged Wagner expedition.
In one segment of the video, the operators try to get their drone to work.
A man named Titan says that the signal is blocked. He calls over the radio to his comrade: “Viktor, Viktor, are you there?”
Titan tells Viktor to “turn on everything.”
Viktor acknowledges the request. He then hangs his handset from a roll bar inside the truck, and leaves it dangling in front of the outward-facing Minion doll.
READ MORE about the Wagner Group in Africa
One Tumbler gets “snuffed out,” the men say, but others keep flying.
The video ends with the truck apparently stuck in the mud. The occupants have exited the cabin. They are not lost, however, because the drone knows where they are – at least, that’s our guess. The fate of the Minion doll is unknown.
Other than using the Tumbler to record a truck being driven down the road, how else have the Musicians employed this device?
They’re not saying. But as recent conflict has shown, drones can change the balance of power in war, particularly in the domain of air defense. And – unlike the Minion doll, and as noted in the manual – the Tumbler is not a toy.
The Russian Ministry of Defence and a rep from the re-formed Wagner Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Susan Katz Keating is publisher and editor in chief of Soldier of Fortune.
