In classical military parlance, "it's METT-TC dependent." Or, "it all depends" on a myriad of factors: design / type of the drone, whether or not its tethered, risk acceptance of the commander.
Generally, the higher is the wing/rotor loading, the better is the ability to operate in windy conditions, but the worse is the efficiency/loiter time.
I can't say much about planes, but for example for quad copters, average racing 5" quadcopter can still operate in very strong winds (25-30knots range) and
the same holds true for the average FPV strike drone (10" rotors, ~5kg AUW).
On the other hand, higher endurance ISR assets (Mavic drones, plane-type drones like Shark, etc.) would be grounded long before that.
No, it wasn't written very well: Most of the vehicles were destroyed or immobilized by mines and ATGMs. 10-15% were destroyed or immobilized by drones. All the immobilized vehicles were then destroyed by drones.
Thanks for the update Don, detailed and extensive as always 👍
QUESTION: How high do the winds have to be so drones can't fly.
Pardon my ignorance I served in the military in the early 1980's..... and Dinosaurs roamed the earth back then.
In classical military parlance, "it's METT-TC dependent." Or, "it all depends" on a myriad of factors: design / type of the drone, whether or not its tethered, risk acceptance of the commander.
Having said that, Colugo advertises that its ARC1000 drones can fly in 35 knot winds (https://www.colugo-sys.com/). Similarly, Wave Aerospace claims its drones can fly in winds up to 30 kts. Mistral's tethered Kite drones can stay aloft up to about 20 knot winds (https://www.mistralsolutions.com/homeland-security/products/mistral-kite-tethered-drone-system/). Finally, DJI recommends not flying their drones in winds above about 20 knots, as well.
Thanks for your detailed answer.
"The drones" is super broad term.
Generally, the higher is the wing/rotor loading, the better is the ability to operate in windy conditions, but the worse is the efficiency/loiter time.
I can't say much about planes, but for example for quad copters, average racing 5" quadcopter can still operate in very strong winds (25-30knots range) and
the same holds true for the average FPV strike drone (10" rotors, ~5kg AUW).
On the other hand, higher endurance ISR assets (Mavic drones, plane-type drones like Shark, etc.) would be grounded long before that.
"His unit stopped 10-15% of the moving vehicles with drones, and then finished off the damaged vehicles with drones."
Maybe you mean that 10-15% were stopped by ATGMs, then the rest finished off with drones?
No, it wasn't written very well: Most of the vehicles were destroyed or immobilized by mines and ATGMs. 10-15% were destroyed or immobilized by drones. All the immobilized vehicles were then destroyed by drones.