UAV unit commander Yehor Soboliev: Effectiveness of Ukraine's army will help defeat Russian horde

Increasing the efficiency of the Armed Forces at all levels is what will bring Ukraine's victory closer. This is the principle professed by former journalist, politician, and IT expert Yehor Soboliev. Back in the spring of 2021, he signed a contract as a reservist with the Kyiv territorial defense unit. He met the large-scale invasion as an ordinary rifleman and participated in the defense of Irpin.

Later, Soboliev moved from infantry to aerial reconnaissance and became a UAV company commander in a special forces unit. During eight months in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, his fighters destroyed over 400 targets.

During the war, the former IT professional received the call sign "NATO" because of his desire to transform the army into a Western model. The commander says that the standards of his company's work include careful planning of operations; delegation of authority to those who are fighting; and analysis of results, especially unsuccessful ones. Soboliev also began to keep statistics on the results of his crews, and based on the objective data obtained, he rewarded the best ones. In essence, he introduced a "military KPI" – a key performance indicator parameter. In civilian life, business uses KPIs to evaluate the successes and failures of both individual employees and managers and entire departments. Soboliev is convinced that a similar approach should be adopted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

For hromadske, the commander of an aerial reconnaissance unit shares his thoughts on how management approaches increase the combat effectiveness of a special forces unit; why it should be applied everywhere; and how the Armed Forces can implement systemic changes. He also explains why Ukrainian UAVs have been nicknamed "enigmatic or ambiguous character from Slavic folklore who has two opposite roles. In some motifs she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, while in others she is a nice old woman, who helps out the hero. She is often associated with forest wildlifeBaba Yaga" by Russians and whether he wants the Kremlin to be among the targets of his unit.

Combat experience

At the end of 2023, Yehor Soboliev summarized the results of the year on his Facebook page: 74 armored vehicles, nine self-propelled artillery systems and howitzers were destroyed, 58 firing positions (with anti-aircraft missile and rocket systems, mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns) were hit, 10 electronic warfare systems, 10 ammunition depots, and 88 vehicles were destroyed. In total, Soboliev's special forces unit's attack drones hit more than 400 targets. And this is without taking into account the losses of Russians inflicted by other units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to aerial reconnaissance. The former IT professional is proud that his company has survived, with only three shell-shocked and two lightly wounded in the arm.

One of the reasons for this success, Soboliev says, is that he encourages crew specialization and the selection of pilots by psychotype.

"A pilot cannot be equally effective in reconnaissance and in bombing or hitting targets with a kamikaze UAV. It's important to choose the type of UAV for which a person has a talent and appeal. I have pilots who are simply unhappy if they don't shoot down, burn or destroy any enemy today. They will not be satisfied with themselves flying so-called photo planes. Instead, aerial reconnaissance men have the talent to build routes very carefully, to scrutinize the footage, and to find armored vehicles after the flight where others may not notice," notes Soboliev.

And then there are the night bombers. For these fighters, the "owl" mode is common: they can sleep until noon, when aerial reconnaissance men are already finishing their work, and then at night they send the enemies they found during the day to hell. They do this very effectively. Russians have nicknamed them after the mythical character they have been frightened by since childhood, Baba Yaga.

Their commander does not disclose the secrets of the work of these night hunters. But he does say that flying and bombing at night has its own peculiarities, including route planning and ammunition. Sometimes bombers find their targets during missions thanks to thermal imaging cameras, which distinguish between the temperature of the forest, the ground and armored vehicles.

However, let's return to the general approach - what are the standards of this special forces company?

The first standard of efficiency: planning

For each drone flight, a realistic and clear goal is set. For example, a reconnaissance UAV takes off in the morning with a clear task: to find armored vehicles in a certain square. The analytical group determines where the vehicles were previously spotted, which enemy units and what weapons are deployed there, and provides these recommendations to the pilots for a thorough mission planning. As a result, one "photocopter" can capture up to 30 important enemy targets in one flight.

In addition to the flight route, they also plan in advance from which position the flight will take off, how best to get there, what are the possible evacuation routes, and what code words to use in which situations.

While the reconnaissance pilots are working, the pilots of the attack UAVs are on standby. As soon as they find a target, their operation begins to engaged the identified enemy.

They also discuss with the crews possible reactions to undesirable situations, including when to cancel the mission. In other words, they try to predict possible events in as much detail as possible and plan how to respond to them in advance.

The second standard of efficiency: delegation

Soboliev's unit uses a method of management whereby soldiers receive a task and then determine how to implement it on their own. At the same time, the commander's task is to give his subordinates enough resources to fulfill the task. This approach is called "Command through objectives. A type of decision-making where the top management decides on an intention, and the implementation is thought out by the executor.Mission command" in Western armies.

There is another style of management that was more typical of the Soviet army, when after defining a task, each stage was followed by approval of its implementation.

"This is what I consider a harmful atavism – at least for modern warfare, especially for UAV units. That's why I canceled all unnecessary radio broadcasts, such as work reports, which in fact only distract the crew and do nothing but disclose them on the air," Soboliev explains his company management style.

Each crew is free to make independent decisions within the scope of the mission. In most cases, a pilot on the front line can assess the course of an operation more quickly and adequately than someone at the control center.

"Due to the widespread use of UAVs, the war is actually being fought online. Therefore, it is very important not to waste time on unnecessary reports and approvals. In most situations, a soldier has to understand better than anyone what to do. And when we give him smart planning, enough resources and freedom of action, he usually makes the best decisions, because it is his operation, his life, his result," explains Soboliev.

At the same time, as a commander, he sets certain restrictions. In particular, they relate to the survival of the pilots themselves. If the threat of death increases, it is better to abandon the task, save lives and successfully complete the mission another time. "We will win the war when the ratio of losses is dozens, or better yet, hundreds of times in our favor. The safety of soldiers should be an important component of assessing the success of the operation."

The third standard of effectiveness: error analysis

Every unsuccessful operation in Soboliev's company is analyzed in detail. Such a mechanism was introduced with caution, because in the Soviet tradition of "rewarding the innocent and punishing the guilty," the military is afraid to take initiative and responsibility. Soboliev takes a different approach: he scolds soldiers who try to hide the problem, but instead encourages them when the pilot admits his mistake and shares with others what exactly went wrong.

"We have a special group in one of the messengers where we share our conclusions and recommendations after each operation, especially an unsuccessful one. If everything went well, they usually just upload an intelligence report or a video of the enemy's engagement. But if there were problems, it has become a good practice in the unit to share this with our brothers-in-arms in the most thoughtful and frank way possible," says Soboliev.

This approach allows not only an individual soldier to realize a mistake, but the entire unit as well. In this way, pilots enrich each other's experience and learn to fight better together. This principle is similar to the NATO "Analysis of the actions taken. This is a cycle of reviewing the results of an operation shortly after the battle.After-action review", where soldiers freely analyze operations and are not afraid to openly discuss failures with their command.

"If I am informed about a problem with a pilot, technician or sergeant from the service support, it is my problem, not theirs. If, God forbid, it is not corrected, it will be my personal responsibility," explains Soboliev of the standard he has introduced in his unit.

KPIs for the military

Speaking about the effectiveness of a particular unit, Soboliev suggests two simple indicators that could objectively determine the best and worst.

The first is the ratio of losses inflicted by the unit to those suffered during combat operations.

The second is the ratio of those willing to transfer to the unit to those who want to leave.

"These are two simple formulas that should be implemented by the Ukrainian Armed Forces leadership. Then it will become clear which units are highly effective – they need to be replenished, armed, expanded and encouraged in every possible way," Soboliev argues.

He himself has statistics in his company for each crew and each soldier: how many targets the reconnaissance UAV found; what percentage of kamikaze hits; how many targets the bomber hit before it was destroyed, etc. As a result, the commander has a mathematical estimate for each type of UAV and for each crew. With this information, he better understands who should be sent for additional training or transferred to another position, and who should be rewarded with a recognition, priority leave, or a better vehicle.

"In the unit, we try to implement the principle of justice as much as possible, so that people can see that when you fight better, you get more support, more encouragement, even more respect. The results of the UAV's work are very clear and easy to calculate. Similar assessments can be introduced in other units: for each gun, for each tank, for each infantry unit. By comparing units that do similar work, we can obtain extremely important information for management. This will give the entire Armed Forces a clear understanding of who needs to be developed, supported and promoted, and who needs to be demoted or even sent to the so-called economic front," concludes Soboliev.

The front can be breached by technology and the level of interaction

Soboliev pays a lot of attention to efficiency for a reason. He believes that it is on this basis that the foundation for victory in the war against Russia can be laid.

"We need to learn to fight in 3-5-10, as many times more efficiently as we can than the orcs. They will always have the ability to produce more drones, mobilize more cannon fodder, and bring in more armored vehicles. We can learn to fight in such a way that the ratio of losses is too high even for Russia. The statistics of my company show that we can destroy many enemies with minimal or no losses," says Soboliev.

He sees a striking example of effectiveness in the alliance of the Ukrainian Air Force and Navy, which, in the absence of a powerful navy, are sinking and driving Russian ships further and further away from the occupied Black Sea coast.

In modern warfare, it is no longer possible to break through the front using the World War II approach, i.e., a large concentration of soldiers and armored vehicles, the UAV commander says. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the fact that the next big successes will be ensured by technology and good management.

"The skillful combination of all new technologies with traditional ones is the key to victory. You need a drone to cooperate and activate another drone, plus EW, plus a mortar, plus a cannon, plus an infantryman – and in combination with robotic mine clearing and mining equipment. The synchronized work of various forces and means at the same time in the right area is what gives the result," notes Soboliev.

He adds that the world is already on the verge of artificial intelligence conducting combat operations. There are already some solutions for using AI, but the level of its effectiveness is still low. "However, many solutions already show that the war of machines that we watched in the Terminator movie as children is about to become part of our war," Soboliev believes.

Only the best should teach

Soboliev does not see his unit as something unique. His special forces unit is not the only one that professes the principle of "maximum results with minimum losses." The commander notes that it is extremely important to learn from the example and experience of other such units.

"Take Achilles (commander of the The 92nd Separate Assault Brigade "Kosh Ataman Ivan Sirko" is part of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and belongs to Operational Command "East".92nd Brigade's attack drone company - ed.) or the guys from The Second Linear Mechanized Battalion of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade "Hetman Ivan Mazepa" of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces belongs to Operational Command "East".K-2, The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade is a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine formed in 2023 formed from the Azov Special Operations Forces regiment.3rd Assault Brigade - they can all show good results. War is the best teacher, and these guys are great students who should be looked up to by others. This is how we have every chance of defeating a bigger enemy," argues Soboliev.

Even though they are on different fronts, the UAV units share their experience. They have established horizontal links and are constantly in touch with each other.

"We have a 'mafia,'" jokes Sobolev. "We exchange knowledge, support, and sometimes even some specific types of different devices."

The recruits of Soboliev's unit are trained in a similar way. After an army-wide "drill", new pilots are assigned to an already experienced crew.

"I make sure that a new person is first carefully ‘baptized by fire’ - taken to an operation where he or she will feel the sounds and atmosphere of war without serious tasks and responsibilities. Then the new recruit receives them, but only as much as he can handle at this stage. So that he can develop gradually. 

Depending on the talent, in a period of one to three months we get a combat-ready colleague who begins to fight for leadership in his category of UAVs," Soboliev said.

In October 2023, new fighters joined the aerial reconnaissance unit, and a few months later they began to claim the informal title of the best reconnaissance crew in the unit. The commander hopes that with the proclaimed principle of recruitment, he will be able to attract even more such talented pilots to his unit.

The dream: to demobilize with a victory

Talking about his plans for the future, Soboliev voices one benchmark: he will be satisfied with anything that leads to victory. Currently, his unit has destroyed as many targets as a Russian regiment. If they need to destroy another 100 regiments to win, they will strive for this result.

"We are not maniacs - none of us would otherwise trade a peaceful, quiet life with our families for what we are doing now. It's just that all the guys understand that there will be no peaceful, quiet life with their families unless we destroy so many orcs and their equipment that they get out of our land and learn this lesson forever," explains Soboliev the motivation of yesterday's civilians.

When asked whether he dreams of striking at the Kremlin, or more precisely, at Putin, Soboliev replies: if it leads to victory. That is his dream, and he also wants as many of his brothers-in-arms as possible to be able to celebrate it.