Russian forces start using Shahed drones to target Ukrainian aircraft, defense ministry reports
Illustrative photo: Shahed strike drone (Getty Images)
Russian forces are trying to adopt Ukrainian forces' tactics and use operator-controlled Shahed drones in attempts to shoot down Ukrainian aircraft and helicopters, Business Insider reports.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Yurii Myronenko, Ukraine's deputy minister of defense for innovation, the Russian army is testing "both new modifications of Shaheds and entirely different models." In this case, Russian forces are using modified Iranian drones that are controlled by an operator.
They can operate near the front line, maintaining communication via antennas in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, regions bordering Russia, or on the territory of Russia's satellite state, Belarus.
"Countering such Shaheds is even more challenging, as they are piloted in real time, allowing the operator to react to the current situation and even attempt to engage our aircraft or helicopters in the air," he said.
Myronenko noted that this tactic shortens defenders' reaction time and creates a number of new challenges. Ukraine relies on aviation - helicopters and planes - to intercept and destroy Shaheds. The new tactic may signal an attempt by Russian forces to suppress this key element of Ukraine's air defense.
Unlike Russia, Ukraine has successfully used long-range strike drones to destroy aircraft in the air. On November 22, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces reported that during a drone attack on Russia, they shot down a Russian helicopter with a deep-strike drone for the first time. The Russian Mi-8 was downed near Kuteynikovo in Russia’s Rostov region.
Russian forces have also lost aircraft during attempts to intercept Ukrainian drones, though not due to drone counterattacks. In many such cases, Russian air defenses mistakenly shot down their own aircraft instead of the Ukrainian drone.
