They are grueling and insidious: Russia also uses drones in the war against Ukraine, presumably from abroad. They fly through the air at a speed of around 200 kilometers per hour and roar so loudly that they can be heard from afar – before they attack.
The damage the drones can cause has now been shown again: According to Ukrainian information, the Russian army has now also attacked targets near the capital Kyiv with so-called kamikaze drones from Iran for the first time.
On Wednesday night there were six impacts and explosions, according to the governor of the Kyiv region, Oleksiy Kuleba, in the Telegram news service. A total of twelve Iranian drones came from the south, probably to destroy the infrastructure.
According to the Military Factory website, kamikaze drones are unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with warheads. In mid-September, the Ukrainian military claims to have shot down the first Iranian-made drone.
Since then, about two dozen others have been sighted in southern Ukraine, military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk said at the end of September, according to AFP.
Half of them were shot down. However, Odessa in particular was repeatedly attacked by drones, killing civilians.
It was communicated months ago that Iran should supply Russia with drones. At the end of August, the US government reported, citing intelligence information, that Russia wanted to buy unmanned drones from Iran for its war in Ukraine – mainly because Russian industry could no longer produce drones due to sanctions. This has made it very difficult to obtain individual components and spare parts.
According to the AFP news agency, Russia has now purchased Mohajer-6 drones. The combat drone can carry a payload of 40 kilograms and reaches a speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
The Shahed-136, a small kamikaze drone with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, was also purchased. Iran had officially denied a delivery.
Even if deadly attacks are said to occur again and again: According to experts, the drones are not very effective. Jeremy Binnie from the British analysis company Janes reports to AFP that the failure rates are high because the systems were not manufactured to a particularly high standard.
In addition, the explosive power is “relatively low.” In his estimation, the drones would therefore not have a major impact on the course of the war.
The fatal thing, however, is that they are very difficult to spot on radar, a non-commissioned officer told the US magazine “Politico”.
Their unit near Cherson had lost two tanks and crew in an attack. In addition, they would put “psychological pressure” on the population, according to military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk. The loud roar is likely to trigger fear in the already stressed people.
Russia also showed interest in Turkish combat drones during the summer. However, the manufacturers of the Bayraktar drones made it clear at the end of August that they would not supply Moscow.
“No matter how much money they offer us, giving them drones is out of the question in this situation. At the moment we fully support the Ukrainian side,” said Haluk Bayraktar, the chief executive of the Turkish defense company, on the BBC.
The Bayraktar-TB2 are currently being used successfully by the Ukrainian military. Baykar’s TB2 drone is very popular in Ukraine, having contributed to the destruction of numerous Russian artillery systems and armored vehicles.
According to the agency, the Turkish armaments company is now even planning to build a factory in Ukraine. This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a meeting with the head of the group on September 9th.
The drone is 6.50 meters long and has a wingspan of twelve meters. It can stay in the air for more than 24 hours and has a maximum speed of around 220 kilometers per hour. And: it is cheaper than the Western competition, experts report.
At the beginning of the Ukraine war there was also speculation about a possible involvement of Israel. According to The Times of Israel, photos were circulating in digital media in mid-March that allegedly show the remains of a Russian drone that was shot down in Ukraine and is believed to have come from an Israeli aircraft.
The photos, whose authenticity has not been verified, show the remains of a Forpost drone, including a plaque with the name of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), an Israeli aircraft and missile manufacturing company. However, the Forpost is a reconnaissance drone manufactured by Russia. It is a licensed copy of the Israeli IAI Searcher. The license was sold to Russia years ago.
Author: Stephanie Hoeppner
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The original of this post “Where do Russia’s drones come from?” comes from Deutsche Welle.
