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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Drone attack reveals weaknesses of Ukrainian unmanned aircraft |
| 2023-03-02 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [REGNUM] Unmanned attacks in several Russian regions at once, from the Belgorod region and the Krasnodar Territory to the Moscow region, impressed with their mass character. But not performance, military analysts say. The study of each of the "arrivals" shows not only the well-known cunning of the organizers of the attack, but also the weaknesses of Ukrainian UAVs and the strategy for launching them. But Kiev is quickly adapting to the countermeasures our air defense forces are taking, experts warn. Ukraine does not strike on Russian territory, Mikhail Podolyak , an adviser to the head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on March 1. But the Russian Defense Ministry is confident that the Kiev leadership is behind the raid of kamikaze drones that occurred on the night of February 27-28. Reports of the most massive drone attack since the beginning of the NMD, we recall, came from the Belgorod Region, the Krasnodar Territory and Adygea, as well as from the Moscow Region. In St. Petersburg, the airport was temporarily closed. A number of media reported that an unknown aircraft was seen in the sky over the city, but the Russian Defense Ministry denied these publications, saying that exercises of air defense forces were held in the region. The first reports of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) came from Belgorod. Three drones of an unidentified model fell on the streets of the city. At the crash site, PE8 I23A1 plastid explosives were found, retrofitted with striking elements from metal balls. In Tuapse (Krasnodar Territory), a drone strike fell on the territory of an oil depot, there were no casualties or serious damage. Another device flew past the target and fell in the vicinity of Maykop. According to the wreckage, it was established that in both cases we are talking about Tu-141 Swift reconnaissance drones, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are converting into kamikaze drones. Another crashed UAV was found in the Kolomensky district of the Moscow region. The UJ 22 Airborne drone manufactured by the Kiev company Ukrjet, one of the largest Ukrainian-made unmanned vehicles, was identified from the wreckage. Foreign UAVs attacking Russian targets, as a rule, fly in radio silence and along a pre-programmed path, Denis Fedutinov, an unmanned aviation specialist and editor-in-chief of the UAV.ru Internet portal, explained to REGNUM . "The flight takes place at low altitudes, I won’t be surprised if the terrain is also taken into account when laying the route ," the expert added. But the organizers of the attack did not achieve the actual practical goals, experts believe. During the day, at least six drones of various models were launched towards Russia, and only one of them reached the target, so the attack can be considered a failure. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are failing by their own tactics, which leads to accidents of vehicles, military expert Alexander Mikhailovsky told REGNUM news agency . "Let’s start by looking at each case separately," the source said. "The first case - Belgorod. There, reports of drones appeared at night, because the city is almost on the border, it’s not far to fly. Footage appeared on the Internet showing the flight of drones, which is typical - at an extremely low altitude." The same can be said about the Tu-141, which tried to hit targets in Maikop and Tuapse. "They came in from the sea and again went at ultra-low altitude to hide from radar. Finally, the drone in the Moscow region again fell, most likely clinging to a tree or a power line tower. Because it flew extremely low. That is, it is obvious that they are trying to protect themselves from air defense systems due to such a simple trick," Mikhailovsky said. Earlier, the organizers of the Ukrainian UAV attacks "acted very boldly when they sent drones deep into Russian territory," the expert notes. "They used unusual routes, changing the course of the drones based on their data on the activity of the Russian [system] air defense. Then the Air Defense Forces figured out the tactics and took action. The Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to adapt - and unsuccessfully," Mikhailovsky believes. In mid-January, one Tu-141 drone crashed in the Voronezh region. Then, on February 6, there were reports of the fall of two drones of this model at once in the Kaluga region and in Ukraine in the Sumy region, near the border, the expert listed. "In all three cases, the drones fell because they tried to go below the level of the radar and caught on ground obstacles. As you can see, the attempt to deceive the air defense [forces] failed. And on February 27–28, it also failed," the specialist believes. But one should not relax and assume that Ukraine will voluntarily abandon plans to use drones for strikes in the depths of Russian territory, Mikhailovsky stressed. According to him, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is changing tactics and is trying to find weaknesses in the Russian defense. "Before, they carried out single launches. Then we switched to doubles: one distracts, and the second attacks, or both attack. They began to act with insurance. The tactics did not pay off. Now they decided to attack at once in a number of directions and very inventively. And straight - in Belgorod, and at a distance - in the Moscow region and over the sea, bypassing the Crimea, which in general became a rather bold decision," the expert admitted. The Crimean air defense forces should be commended for repelling attacking drones from Sevastopol, Mikhailovsky added. "Now UAVs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine prefer to look for other targets, easier ones. But again, it's an adaptation. They do not ram their foreheads into an obstacle, but try different models, different routes," the expert noted. "Now their weak point is the need to move at ultra-low altitude, which leads to drone accidents. I would suggest how they will proceed, but I do not want to give them ideas. But they won't stop, that's for sure. Our air defense withstood the first blow, the second, it seems, too. But this is clearly not the end." March 1, 2023 Sergei Adamov. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 Certainly not Western News. |
| Posted by: Dale 2023-03-02 23:47 |
| #2 Absolutely. Unless if you actually follow the news, instead of talking to somebody |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-03-02 19:40 |
| #1 Russian electronic warfare has had a dramatic effect on Ukrainian drone attacks. Three day blitz and nothing to show for it. Whatever the Russians have it works. |
| Posted by: Dale 2023-03-02 16:14 |