Higher, faster, more destructive: Upgraded Russian drones wreaked havoc on Ukrainian cities

When air strikes sirens and alarm sounds on Oleksandr Matviienko’s phones, Kiev residents began to browse social media channels quickly in an attempt to gather more information about arriving at the capital.

If he sees talking about ballistic missiles or drones saturating the sky, he grabs the sleeping bag, puts the mat near the door, and heads to a nearby subway station to join a crowd of people, ready to spend hours waiting for the attack, by covering up the underground attack.

“I know the threat is really big right now,” Matviienko told CBC News in an interview on Zoom.

“You never know if it will hit your apartment, your neighbor or neighbor.”

Matviiienko is a defense reporter for the Counterattack Pro, a newsletter for defense innovation.

He experienced firsthand the fear and sleepless nights triggered by Russian record-breaking drone attacks, and he understood Ukraine’s challenges as it attempts to intercept a large number of modified drones designed to be faster, taller, and hard to interrupt.

Iranian design, Russia upgrade

In the fall of 2022, Russia began using Iran-made Shah drone that hit the target and exploded. The drone has a wingspan of more than two meters and makes a buzzing sound, some compared to the sound of a motorcycle.

While Iranian drones initially caused terrorist attacks in Ukrainian cities, Russia has increased its production of three variants, namely Geran-1, Geran-2 and Geran-3.

Although Russia has not disclosed the drone it produced within a month, Recent Reports Zvezda is one of the state broadcasters in the country’s state, and it is said that a factory filled with drones was displayed in the Tatastan area of Russia. The report details the growing workforce of the factory, complemented by on-the-job training for high school students.

Just as Ukraine has continued to develop its weapons since its full invasion in February 2022, Russia’s drones have passed several technological upgrades.

Ukraine said the drones can now be equipped with more than 90 kilograms of explosives and found that ammunition and ammunition would cause damage to a wider area.

Russia is also launching drones in a bigger sport to overwhelm Ukraine’s defense system. Although Kiev continued to shoot down the vast majority of people, the huge size of the group meant that more drones passed through the defense system and hit the target.

“We are in the most challenging time now,” Matviienko said.

“Previously, they launched 300 to 400 drones across the country, and now they are focused on one or two cities.”

Record attack

Kyiv has suffered several air attacks in recent weeks.

June 28, At least 28 people When drones and missiles aimed the capital within nine hours, they were killed and more than 100 people were injured. One of the drones hit a high-rise apartment building, destroying several units.

Then, during the overnight hours between July 8 and July 9, Russia launched the largest drone barrage, with 728 drones targeting Ukraine and 13 missiles.

Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, compared the scene with a high-speed chess game.

“People can imagine what happens when 741 drones and missiles appear on the Ukrainian map at the same time,” Ignat said.

“In that moment, the commander should use what method to knock them down to make a difficult decision.”

As part of its weapon barrage, Russia also launched a bait drone, which consists of similar components but does not have a warhead.

have Several types of baitsincluding some things that look very similar to Iranian drones and Russian-made Geran models. This makes it difficult for Ukrainian air force to discover a real air force, further expanding its air defense system.

More complex navigation systems

When Russia launched drones, Ukraine used radar to detect incoming weapons and then deployed various methods to intercept them, but the upgrades to the drone brought some challenges.

One change, Ignat said, is to apply them to a black coating, which makes them even harder to see at night.

Experts say these devices are now equipped Global Navigation Satellite Systems, including Larger arrays of antennae make them more resistant to electron interference.

Ignat said the drones fly higher – usually at an altitude of two kilometers or more – making it difficult for mobile defense teams to shoot them down with machine guns.

And they fly faster.

Experts say the Geran-2 model can travel about 200 km/h. The latest Geran-3 drone, the piston engine has been replaced by jet power supplies and can travel at speeds of more than 500 km/h.

Ukraine is using F-16 fighters, helicopters and air defense missiles to try to remove drones, and Matviiienko said Ukraine needs a large number of fast, relatively cheap interceptor drones that can fly at least 300 km/h.

He added that at present, there are relatively few producers from domestic producers.

Fund more production

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a meeting with reporters that Ukrainian mobile fire brigades are now using interceptor drones, not machine guns.

He said four companies are currently making interceptor drones, two of which are “already very successful in this field.” He said Ukraine is ready to increase production and reaches a financing agreement with Germany.

Zelenskyy added that Canada is also committed to providing support.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shyhal reportedly told allies at a meeting earlier this week that Kiev needs $6 billion in the United States to fill the shortage of weapons production this year, including the creation of interceptor drones.