Russia rapidly copies Ukrainian tech, scaling it in weeks
Photo: Russian Elka interceptor (Russian media)
Russia is rapidly adopting and scaling up the technological innovations of the Ukrainian Defense Forces thanks to its own state-level resources—as soon as an effective solution emerges, its deployment on the front lines increases exponentially, according to Denys Perch, commander of the 107th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russia scales up others' innovations using state resources
According to Perch, there is no point in dwelling on specific types and kinds of equipment, since Russia is also expanding its own capabilities.
What sets Russia apart is that it takes Ukraine's innovations and rapidly scales them up thanks to its own resources and scale at the state level. Sooner or later, the Ukrainian Defense Forces face the reality that once a certain guidance system appears, Russia sees its effectiveness and immediately increases its use many-fold.
Interceptors complicated bombers' operations, but Ukrainian Armed Forces found countermeasure
The brigade commander confirms that when Russian interceptors were first deployed, they did indeed have a certain effect on the battlefield. In particular, they pushed Ukrainian bombers back somewhat.
However, according to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already found certain countermeasures and capabilities, the details of which Perch cannot disclose at this time, noting that he may do so in the future. He says this solution is working: it has become more difficult for Russia to detect Ukrainian bombers, and even when detected, they are not always successfully shot down.
The Dignitas Foundation, together with the company Aura, is working on protecting heavy bombers using electronic warfare (EW) systems—despite their high cost, these drones are regularly shot down by much cheaper FPV drones due to their slowness and lack of maneuverability.
Aircraft-type interceptor drones will eventually be equipped with jet engines—Yartura CEO Oleh Bukarenko discussed this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, explaining the advantages of winged interceptors over copter-type ones.
