United to win: Germany delivers Ukraine mobile surveillance systems

The new package of German military aid included the SurveilSPIRE intelligence systems that see at a distance of up to 30 km, Rubryka reports.

What is the problem?

Unmanned aerial vehicles in modern warfare have wider applications than simply destroying enemy targets. They are extremely important for adjusting fire, as well as for reconnaissance and other combat tasks.

Today, fighting without UAVs is like playing chess, knowing only the location of one's own pieces and having no idea of the enemy's position.

Ukrainian defenders constantly need many reconnaissance drones as they are their eyes: successful reconnaissance by UAVs saves the lives of the Ukrainian military and helps destroy the occupiers. Unfortunately, drones are expendable, and forces lack them all the time.

What is the solution?

In August, Germany handed over a new aid package to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which included, in particular, five SurveilSPIRE mobile automated intelligence systems.

The list of new aid from Berlin included six more Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, 15,042 ammunition for them, ten tracked all-terrain vehicles Bandvagn 206, 2,688 smoke artillery shells of 155 mm caliber, 20 reconnaissance UAVs RQ-35 Heidrun, 13 reconnaissance drones Vector, eight ambulances, and eight dental sterilizers.

SurveilSPIRE was included in the aid package along with Gepard rigs, drones, and other weapons.

How does it work?

Ukraine received SurveilSPIRE for the first time in February 2023. Then they were transferred by the German company Rheinmetall on the order of the German government. Now they were transferred without the involvement of a third-party company.

Mobile automated intelligence systems consist of mobile observation towers with day and night video surveillance equipment, mini drones with autopilot, and management systems.

The delivery also includes vehicles. The systems have been in service with the German army since 2021. They can run continuously without power cables or fuel, thanks to solar panels.

SurveilSPIRE is light and mobile. They can even be transported by car. Data from the system is transmitted via 4G and Starlink to the mobile command center.

Rubryka reported that an underground factory was set up in Ukraine to produce marine surface drones. The Defense Forces effectively employed these drones for operations like attacking the Crimean Bridge and Russian vessels, including the "Olenegorsky Gornyak" and the tanker "SIG."