Off the shelf $300 FPV drones are outgunning this https://gagadget.com/en/170708-aerovironment-received-206-mi... $6000.

This is how this works: https://twitter.com/M0nstas/status/1657270184338497537 https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1658906844167905284 https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/16585330182884147...

Switchblade 300 has small anti personnel warhead. DIY UKR drones are carrying hilariously big mortar shells with equally oversized batteries, here one that failed to detonate https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1658962434235801605

As for DJI drones for observation duty, russian sources estimate average drone lasting a week when operating by Arty units and ~one day in infantry. Drones like Matrice are >$10K.

I get the feeling that the high sticker price for the donated equipment is more an artifact of western military procurement processes than a measure of how much stuff they are getting.

If you consider tanks, for example, the donations tend to be in the low double-digit range. The single biggest contributor is actually Russia, since the Ukrainians have captured quite a large number. They also had really big reserves of all sorts of equipment before the war.

> With all the money and equipment being donated I am surprised that they need budget drones

Why risk a decent piece of equipment attriting the enemy's static defences when you can slam a $100 RPG into a tank or APC worth >1 million with a $300 FPV drone.

The cost benefit analysis is off the charts for that. I would be keeping most of my good stuff for an offensive.

Cheap, almost disposable eyes for every soldier or platoon could easily be a game changer in a way a million dollar drone can't. Just having a drone to look around a corner on demand could be a big deal.