Russia upgrading Shahed and long-range drones - Ukraine's army chief
Photo: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi (facebook.com CinCAFofUkraine)
Russia is constantly improving its drones, including Iranian Shahed drones. They are now equipped with modern anti-interception systems and even self-destruction mechanisms, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Russia complicating the fight against drones
Syrskyi explained that any war is a competition of technologies. If Ukraine develops interceptor drones, Russia makes its devices more resistant to electronic warfare.
According to him, the following are already being installed on the Shahed drones:
- optical guidance systems,
- 12-16-channel antennas that make them resistant to interference,
- fire and collision avoidance sensors.
This allows Russian drones to perform uncontrolled maneuvers, making them more difficult to destroy.
Russia's new tactics
According to him, virtually all long-range drones currently used by Russia, even the Gerbera that Russia uses as decoys, are equipped with explosives for self-destruction.
"All of the long-range drones the enemy now uses, even the Gerans deployed as decoys, are fitted with explosives for self-detonation – so that the drone cannot be captured after crashing, and to hit anyone who approaches it," Syrskyi warned.
The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said that in just one year, the Ukrainian military managed to destroy more than 3,200 Russian Shaheds from helicopters.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that on August 18, Russian troops attacked Kharkiv with kamikaze drones. One of the Shaheds hit a residential building in the Industrialnyi district. Russian strike caused a large-scale fire, and people may remain under the rubble. According to preliminary data, at least five civilians were killed.
