Aerorozvidka (, "aerial reconnaissance") is a team and NGO that promotes creating and implementing netcentric and robotic military capabilities for the security and defense forces of Ukraine. Aerorozvidka specialises in aerial reconnaissance and drone warfare. It was founded in May 2014 by a team which included Ukrainian battalion commander Natan Chazin. Its founder, Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach, was an investment banker who was killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2015.
Foundation
Aerorozvidka began as a group of volunteer drone and IT enthusiasts, which eventually evolved later into a military unit. It has been termed a "war startup" by the Atlantic Council.
When the occupation of Crimea by Russia started in 2014, Natan Khazin, the leader of the "Jewish Regiment" of the Euromaidan and a soldier of the first "Azov" formation, began to look for opportunities for the technical armament of the Ukrainian army. After an unsuccessful trip to Israel, where he was refused help, he turned to his friend from Maidan for help. This friend was making panoramic shots from a DJI Phantom drone. The videoclip "Ukraine through the eyes of a drone", produced with his contribution, has gained over a million views on YouTube. It was from this drone, which he has gifted to the volunteers, Aerorozvidka began.
Volodymyr Kochetkov-Sukach took this drone and went to the "Aidar" battalion, where it received a positive feedback. Later Yaroslav Honchar undertook to adapt the device for action in combat conditions, which he did in cooperation with the Krok computer academy. As a result, the flight range of Ukrainian drones increased from 300 meters to 3 kilometers (1000 feet to 2 miles). Aircraft modeling clubs, individual amateurs and commercial organizations also contributed into this. The devices were continuously improved and were used in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and in volunteer battalions.
Status and cooperation
At the beginning of its activity, the Aerorozvidka volunteer group already had cooperated with the Armed Forces, the Internal Troops and the National Guard of Ukraine as well as with the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Later, the Aerorozvidka community members joined intelligence units in groups.
In December 2015, members of Aerorozvidka joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the form of military unit A2724 called the Center for the Implementation and Support of Automated Operational (Combat) Control Systems. The unit was formed from the Aerorozvidka group volunteers, which worked at that time in separate intelligence units 74 and 131. The new unit joined the Communications and Cyber Security Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, in 2020, on the initiative of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine liquidated this military unit. In the NATO system, the unit is classified as C4ISR (command, control, communications, IT (computers), intelligence, surveillance, instrumental intelligence).
In July 2020, the volunteer group members registered the NGO "Aerorozvidka" in Ukraine.
In March 2021, a reorganization takes place, after which the A2724 military unit is restored in the structure of the Ministry of Defense. One part of the unit, which worked in the direction of video surveillance, comes under the command of the Joint Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Later, by the end of 2021, the Center for Innovations and Defense Technologies is also separated (from 2022 it appears in official sources under the name Center for Innovations and Development of Defense Technologies). The other part of the former military unit A2724 becomes the scientific staff of the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technologies.
Current activities
As of 2022, the activities of Aerorozvidka included: development, testing and implementation of automated control tools, primarily the Delta situational awareness system; development, testing, implementation and application of various sensors for the situational awareness system, in particular video surveillance; designing and operation of multirotor unmanned aerial vehicles; promoting the reforms of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, primarily regarding the implementation of the C4ISR system; cooperation with state authorities on the development of capabilities of the security and defense forces of Ukraine for the integration of Aerorozvidka veterans into civilian life; implementation of other scientific and technical projects and application of military experience in civilian spheres (e.g., in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone; participation in international events: CWIX, Sea Breeze, Rapid Trident).