Ukraine has taken another leap in the drone war against Russia. Ukrainian forces are beginning to use long range armed also with unguided rockets under the wings, a hybrid tactic that mixes missile, bomber and anti-aircraft suppression platform functions in a single device.
It was announced this week by the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), which published videos showing fixed-wing drones firing bursts of rockets at Russian targets before continuing their mission.
According to the images released by kyiv, some of these drones carry up to eight rockets distributed in two launchers located under the wings. After the initial attack, the device also maintains its main explosive charge of about 60 kilos to hit a strategic target.
The new mission: destroy Russian air defenses
One of Ukraine’s big problems in its long-range attacks is that many drones are shot down before reaching their targets. Russia has built a very dense defensive network composed of anti-aircraft systems, electronic warfare, mobile machine guns and equipment Manpads —portable shoulder-launched missiles—even distributed in forests and rural areas.
Now Ukraine is trying to change that equation. “The task is set: eliminate to zero these machine gunners and crews of Manpads“said one of the messages broadcast by the Ukrainian forces along with the video of the attacks and.
The military logic is clear: before launching the main attack, the drone itself tries to neutralize those who could shoot it down.
Attacks 500 kilometers inside Russia
The Ukrainian unit Magyar’s Birds, one of the best known in the conflict, assured that some of these attacks were carried out at an operational depth of up to 500 kilometers.
This distance already places the objectives practically in the strategic environment of Moscow. The video released by Ukraine allegedly shows attacks against Black Sea Fleet facilities in Crimea and also against Russian mobile air defense units.
Although the exact location of all the recordings could not be independently verified, military analysts consider the system shown by kyiv to be credible.
Cheap drones with attack aircraft functions
The great tactical advantage of this system is economic. Traditionally, unguided rockets were launched from helicopters or attack aircraft, platforms that were extremely expensive and vulnerable to modern air defenses.
Ukraine is now using relatively cheap drones to do some of that work. The rockets used – similar to the models S-8 Soviet ones—cost just a few thousand dollars, while The complete drone can cost between $50,000 and $55,000. according to Western estimates.
Even so, the cost is still much lower than that of a cruise missile or a manned aircraft.
He FP-1 y FP-2the drones that worry Moscow
Although the exact model used was not officially confirmed by Ukrainian forces, open source intelligence experts believe it is likely the drones. FP-1 o FP-2 developed by the Ukrainian company Fire Point.
These devices were specifically designed for very long range attacks and can travel up to 1,600 kilometers carrying an explosive charge considerable.
Its design is reminiscent of a small light plane, something that makes it easy to integrate additional weapons under the wings.
Ukraine copies and adapts Russian and Iranian tactics
The drone war between Russia and Ukraine has become a true accelerated military laboratory where both sides innovate almost every week, as happens in almost all wars.
Russia had already begun to incorporate missiles and secondary weapons in some long-range type drones. Shahed.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow even adapted air-to-air missiles R-60 on drones derived from Iranian models to try to shoot down Ukrainian helicopters and planes. Now kyiv seems to be responding with an even more flexible and cheaper version.
War enters a new technological phase
The evolution of these drones confirms an increasingly clear trend: unmanned systems are replacing functions that previously required conventional aviation.
Ukraine attempts aerial attack against Russia through cheap, massive and increasingly sophisticated attacks.
And Moscow faces a growing problem: Even if it shoots down some of those drones, each device can now first attack Russia’s own defenses before heading toward its main target. The consequence is that the Russian rear becomes increasingly vulnerable and expensive to protect.
