Russia’s innovative drone tactics target Ukraine’s air defenses

MOSCOW:

Russia has begun using new, cost-effective drones in its long-range strikes in Ukraine to spot air defenses, capture footage of damage and serve as decoys, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence official.

These drones, made of materials such as foam plastic and plywood, have been deployed in five attacks over the past two to three weeks, including an overnight attack on Thursday. One type of these new drones is equipped with a camera and a Ukrainian mobile phone SIM card to send images to the Russian military.

“They’re determining where our mobile groups are, where the machine guns are that can destroy them. They’re trying to get a picture of where all our air defenses are,” said Andriy Chernyak, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence service.

These previously unreported details demonstrate Russia’s ongoing efforts to adapt its tactics and use new technology in its daily missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, which explode on impact, have been a key component of Russia’s airstrikes since the first year of its full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

Ukraine, appealing to the West for more air defense support against increased Russian airstrikes on its electricity facilities since March, has been hiding the locations of its air defense systems. The new Russian camera drones do not carry explosives but look very similar to regular Shahed drones and fly alongside them.

Another type of these new drones carries no explosive charge or only a small one and serves as a decoy, forcing Ukrainian forces to reveal their air defense positions.

These new drones, which cost just $10,000 each despite their long range, are much cheaper to produce than air defense missiles. They can also fly at an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,000 ft), putting them out of range of machine guns and automatic rifles.

The conflict in Ukraine has become a testing ground for drone warfare technology, with both sides making extensive use of attack and reconnaissance drones.

Ukraine has increased domestic drone production to close the gap between its capabilities and those of Russia, launching long-range drone attacks on Russian targets, including oil refineries.

Russia claims the long-range airstrikes aim to weaken Ukraine militarily, while Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting civilian buildings and causing severe damage to energy facilities and civilian casualties.

Russian troops currently occupy about 18 percent of Ukrainian territory and have made gradual gains in the east, challenging Kiev along a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front.