Ukrainian Company Unveils Domestic Thermal Imaging Camera for FPV Drones

Yaroslav Azhnyuk, the CEO of Ukrainian drone company Odd Systems, has announced his company’s new Kurbas-256 thermal imaging cameras for first-person view (FPV) drones frequently used on the front line.

“We studied the experience and took the wishes of FPV operators into account. And they created a Ukrainian product with full control of hardware and low-level software. From pilots, drone designers, and the people who made a million pet cameras,” said Azhnyuk in his Thursday Facebook announcement, referencing his other company PetCube, one of Ukraine’s top startups which specialized in pet monitoring cameras.

Azhnyuk added that depending on the order size, the price per unit can be as low as $150. He said for orders below 500 units, each unit would cost $250, whereas orders exceeding 5,000 units would cost $150 per unit.

He cited the advantages of the Kurbas-256 camera as follows:

• High-quality image
• Adjustable in-flight contrast and brightness
• Its sealed installation means no condensation in winter –
• “Curtain” control – no image sticking
• Pseudo-color mode

Review of the online catalogue from a retail site for drone parts showed that Kurbas-256 camera’s pricing is on-par with the more affordable models while presumably offering performance to compete with high-end models costing upwards of $1,000 per unit.

Drones, specifically FPV drones, have been favored by both sides of the war in Ukraine due to their cost-effectiveness, where Ukrainian operators have been able, on multiple occasions, to destroy Russian main battle tanks that cost millions with drones that can cost less than $450 per unit.

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Ukraine is Getting Its Own Capability to Strike Deep into Russian Territory

Deprived of the unrestricted use of long-range Western weapons to attack Russian bases, Ukraine has come up with its own weapons that blur the line between missiles and drones to fill the gap.

Thermal cameras, which allow troops to spot targets through their heat signatures, have also been proliferating on the battlefield by allowing troops to conduct operations at night or when visibility is low, though both sides have also been developing countermeasures, such as so-called “invisibility cloaks” used to conceal the heat signature.