DRONE HUMOUR
Video shows Ukraine's 'hornet' drones following Russia's tanks and plopping grenades on top of them

Matthew Loh
Tue, September 26, 2023 

The tanks can be seen peppered by grenades from the air.Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

• Ukraine published a video showing its drones dropping grenades on Russian tanks on open roads.

• The drones followed the vehicles for a short distance, before dropping the explosives on the tanks.

• Ukraine has been ramping up unconventional uses of drones to attack Russian targets.

Ukraine's military released a video on Wednesday of its drones harassing Russian tanks with grenades.

The drones, which a video caption called the "Hornets of Dovbush," were seen dropping the grenades on the Russian armor after tailing the vehicles on an open road.

When one of the tanks slows to a stop, a drone catches up and drops its payload.

The tanks, at least one of which appears to be an advanced T90 model, do not seem to try to move out of the way, and it's unclear if the crews inside were aware of the drones directly above them.

In one of the clips, the attacked tank begins accelerating and then reversing after the impact of the grenade.

The drones are named after Oleksy Dovbush, an eastern European outlaw who lived in the early 18th century and is now a folk hero likened to Robin Hood in Ukraine.

"The 'Hornets of Dovbush' painfully 'sting enemy tanks,'" Ukraine's Armed Forces wrote.

The Ukraine war has increasingly seen the use of drones on the battlefield, including small commercial drones taped with artillery shells.

On its part, Russia has been relying on Iranian Shahed drones, using some as explosives that fly into their targets and self-destruct.