I’m not usually a person that openly talks about geopolitics online, but a year ago I couldn’t help myself from sharing my shock and dismay from what I saw was happening in Ukraine. We witnessed one of Europe's most significant atrocities since WW2 unfold before our eyes, and sadly it's still ongoing. I remember one of the first questions I got on one of my online outings “Do you think FPV drones will play a role in the conflict?”. Naively, I said I didn’t think the technology would be of any use. Limited flight distance and battery charge didn’t match the idea of modern blitz warfare, where the outcome is decided by air superiority and mobile troops on the ground. Boy, was I wrong!

It wasn't long before several of my Ukrainian friends reached out to me. Civilians in a small town near Kyiv were having difficulty navigating the "fog of war" and were unaware of the situation around them. The use of a drone could offer them a bird’s eye view to evaluate the risk they were exposed to. It suddenly occurred to me that FPV drone technology would actually have a significant impact. My team and I quickly realized that with our drone simulators, we have the technology to help these people defend their homes and loved ones. We were not content to stand idly by, so we took action. Since February of last year, we have provided hundreds of Liftoff licenses to Ukrainians and supported various organizations in establishing drone schools throughout Ukraine. These initiatives prioritize both education and defense.

Our partnership with Ukrainians has been a two-way street. We’ve provided them with our expertise and technology and they have helped us establish connections, validate opportunities, and even volunteered to translate Liftoff into Ukrainian. We hope to make this translation available in Liftoff in the near future.

All these efforts are something we have not publicly spoken about before, our intentions are to help, not to create publicity. So why am I speaking out now? Firstly, it is the one-year anniversary of the conflict, but that is not the primary reason. We recently discovered footage of Liftoff being used in Russian war propaganda, which has prompted us to address the situation. We do not support the use of Liftoff by aggressors. I decided to finally write about our stance in a more “official” manner to share the point of view of a drone simulator developer on a conflict where drones are playing a key role. I realize that by openly showing support for Ukraine, there’s certainly some people that will be offended, for whatever twisted reason. To those that have an issue with that, I have a clear and unapologetic response: иди на хуй!

- Kevin Haelterman
Co-founder at LuGus Studios