If a major disaster like Fukushima or Chornobyl ever happens again, the world would know almost straight away, thanks to an array of government and DIY radiation-monitoring programs running globally.

"It's more exhausting," says Afer, a deputy commander of the "Da Vinci Wolves", describing how one of the best-known battalions in Ukraine has to defend against constant Russian attacks. Where once the invaders might have tried small group assaults with armoured vehicles, now the tactic is to try and sneak through on foot one by one, evading frontline Ukrainian drones, and find somewhere to hide. Under what little cover remains, survivors then try to gather a group of 10 or so and attack Ukrainian positions. It is costly – "in the last 24 hours we killed 11," Afer says – but the assaults that previously might have happened once or twice a day are now relentless. To the Da Vinci commander it seems that the Russians are terrified of their own officers, which is why they follow near suicidal orders.

Fox News contributor and Army veteran Brett Velicovich shares insight into the United States' drone capabilities and how it compares to adversaries like Russia and China. The U.S. Marine Corps established an attack drone team earlier this year to respond to the rapid development of armed first-person view (FPV) drone technology and tactics, offering a glimpse into the evolving landscape of modern warfare and how future battles could be fought. The Marine Corps Attack Drone Team (MCADT) will be based at the Weapons Training Battalion, Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. The FPV drones used will offer squad-level lethality at a range of up to 20 kilometers, nearly 12.5 miles, for under 5,000, compared to more expensive weapons systems with less capability, according to a press release from the service. "MCADT is committed to rapidly integrating armed first-person view drones into the FMF [Fleet Marine Force], enhancing small-unit lethality and providing organic capabilities that warfighters currently lack," said Maj. Alejandro Tavizon, the headquarters company commander at Weapons Training Battalion and officer in charge of MCADT.

Drones have become an important tool in a creator's bag of tricks, allowing them to capture aerial footage that elevates their videos. And nowadays, they've become more accessible as video quality and features have dramatically improved while prices have dropped. Recent budget-friendly models include DJI's Neo and Flip drones, along with the HoverAir X1 Pro lineup, all under 500. If you've got more to spend, the options are similarly plentiful with drones like the DJI Mini 4 Pro and HoverAir X1 Pro Max. And for the price of a good mirrorless camera, you can get DJI's Mavic 3 Pro that offers awesome image quality, range and other features.

"I lost count after 100," the 44-year-old, camouflage-clad instructor told Al Jazeera while observing three cadets of his drone flight school pilot their buzzing aircraft over a withering meadow just outside Kyiv. Sitting at a plastic table littered with tools and batteries, the cadets with their joysticks and goggle cameras looked geeky and harmless. During their Saturday morning drill, each of them took turns flying a drone whose camera allows first-person views of the flight. Time after time after time, the cadets learned how to manoeuvre their drones by flying them through two loops stuck into the wet ground. The drones often fell with a whiz after touching a loop or a bush, losing a red plastic propeller or a leg that had to be found in the wet grass and reattached.

With their origins in the world of drone racing, FPV drones (that's first-person view for the uninitiated) offer a faster, smoother, and more exciting flying experience than the camera drones we've typically covered in the Gear section. To use a gross oversimplification, if standard drones, like the new WIRED Recommended DJI Air 3, fly like helicopters, FPV drones behave more like airplanes. While most drones are designed to remain as steady and level as possible in the air--all the better to provide a stable platform for photography and videography--FPV drones can bank, drift, climb, and plunge acrobatically, and even pull off loops, flips, and barrel rolls in the hands of a skilled pilot. Go to YouTube and have a look if you want to see how incredibly agile these things can be. DJI's Avata 2 aims to bring the skill requirements needed for FPV flight down, while still offering an exhilarating first-person experience.

GoPro has unveiled the Hero 10 Black Bones, a lightweight version of the Hero 10 Black designed for FPV and "Cinewhoop" drones that have taken off in popularity. It offers features like HyperSmooth 4.0 and 5.3K video, but is light enough to be mounted on 3-inch class and larger drones. "Bones is an important step in our strategy to leverage GoPro's core camera-technology to produce derivative products that address the needs of a specific audience of customers," said GoPro founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman. "Bones delivers Hero 10 Black image quality and performance in a lightweight body that is ideal for aerial cinematography." At 54 grams, the Hero 10 Black Bones weighs 100 grams less than the Hero 10 black, making it the lightest GoPro ever, the company said. Helping keep the weight down is the fact that it doesn't carry its own battery but is instead powered by the drone's own 2S-6S or 5-27V batteries -- a typical setup on FPV drones.

As leaks suggested, DJI is releasing a cinematic first-person view drone that works with its FPV Goggles. The FPV comes with the latest version of the goggles and there's an optional one-handed motion controller. The company is calling it a hybrid drone that blends elements of cinematic FPV devices and racing drones, but it leans more toward the former category. The company is hoping to make first-person drone flying more accessible by bringing its features to a cinewhoop-style drone. The DJI Virtual Flight app should help beginners practice before they actually start flying.

Case in point, the SKEYE Nano 2 FPV Drone is the world's smallest camera drone, but it boasts an unrivaled flying experience. With adjustable gyro sensitivity and 6-axis flight control system, this tiny drone is easy to control for even the most novice pilots, making it a perfect gift for the aspiring aviator on your list. Plus you can take an extra 20% off its sale price when you plug in the BFRIDAY20 coupon code at checkout, bringing the total to just $51.20, down from $99. Featuring Ready to Fly Technology, the SKEYE Nano 2 FPV Drone makes operation easy for beginner pilots. You can take off, land, and hover easily with built-in auto-functions, and it can capture real-time, first-person video with its HD, WiFi-controlled camera.