The Ukrainian drone zeroed in on the two Russian soldiers riding a motorcycle just after 9 a.m. on July 19, closer and closer, until it swooped down to hit its mark and the camera went dark.
It was a high-value target for the drone operator’s regiment: worth as many as 24 points, to be exact. In a real-world game run by the Ukrainian government, regiments are being rewarded with points for successful attacks.
Wound a Russian soldier? Eight points. Kill one? That is good for 12. A Russian drone pilot is worth more: 15 points for wounding one, and 25 points for a kill. Capturing a Russian soldier alive with the help of a drone is the jackpot: 120 points.
“It’s a brutal game — human lives turned into points,” said Stun, 33, a drone commander for the Ukrainian unmanned systems regiment known as Achilles. In keeping with military protocol, he goes by only his call sign.
The Ukrainian government set up the competition in August 2024, although that was more of a soft launch, a beta version. Teams compete for points to acquire Ukrainian-made gear, including basic surveillance drones and larger drones carrying powerful explosives, through an internal Amazon-style weapons store called Brave1 Market. The store first went online in April of this year and was expanded in August.
The more points a unit gets, the better stuff it can buy, ensuring that resources are directed to the teams that best use them. It is a digital-age, instant-gratification twist on time-honored rewards for soldiers like medals and promotions, with the winnings plowed back into the war effort.
More than 400 drone teams compete. Some infantry units that did not have full-fledged drone units have created them to be able to use the point system and earn equipment, soldiers said.
Officials argue that the competition keeps troops energized after three and a half years of war, with drone operators facing constant stress from witnessing violence on live video feeds.
The Russians have their own version of a battlefield competition, paying bonuses like $2,400 for destroying a helicopter or $12,000 for capturing a Leopard tank.