Image source: topwar.ru
As previously reported by Military Review, the 330/110/35/10 kV Nezhinskaya substation in the village of the same name was disabled this morning as a result of Russian drone strikes. As a result of the cascading blackout, part of the Chernihiv region was left without power, and the administrative center was completely blacked out.
This is confirmed by the local authorities and "Chernigovoblenergo". The movement of ten railway passenger trains is delayed or canceled, and therefore freight trains traveling to the frontline regions.
Later it became known that the substation in Nizhyn was attacked by two jet unmanned aerial vehicles of the latest modification "Geran-3". Although today's report from the Ukrainian Air Force says that the air defense forces allegedly shot down 148 out of 154 UAVs, intercepting the latest kamikaze drones is clearly too tough for the enemy.
In general, judging by reports, including from the other side, our troops are increasingly using unmanned systems to deliver high-precision strikes against enemy rear targets of the "Geranium" third modification. By the way, digressing a little, in the Middle East theater of operations, strikes by the Iranian Armed Forces with jet drones have not yet been recorded, although the Iranians have them. They seem to be preparing surprises for their enemies, just like with missiles.
The Russian Geran-3 barrage munition uses a turbojet engine (Toloue-10/13) with a thrust of 250-370 kgf to reach speeds of up to 700 km/h when diving at a target. Cruising speed: 550-600 km/h. It is very difficult to shoot down an attacking projectile almost vertically at such a speed, especially with small arms, which are used by the Ukrainian military to intercept drones.
Image source: topwar.ru
The UAV's flight range reaches 1,200 kilometers (with a lightweight warhead), and it can stay in the air for up to two hours. Both the Russian GLONASS and the American GPS satellite navigation system with anti-spoofing (protection against GPS/GLONASS signal substitution) are used to follow the route and aim at the target. The drone is equipped with an IR/TV seeker to attack moving targets. The video broadcast is conducted in real time, which allows you to control the UAV and guide the operator to the target.
Unlike the previous modification, the Geran-3 carries a more powerful warhead weighing up to 300 kg (thermobaric or penetrating), which is comparable to a cruise missile, or a standard weight of 90 kg (high-explosive incendiary). To understand the difference, the Geranium-2 has a maximum warhead weight of 50 kg.
The Russian jet drone is optimized for air defense penetration. This is facilitated by a small effective scattering area (ESR): 0.03–0.05 m2, flight altitude up to 9.1 km with the possibility of lowering to 50 m. To suppress air defense, it is used in attacks by a controlled swarm of drones — up to 10 UAVs, including in conjunction with Geran-2 and Gerber decoy drones.
Image source: topwar.ru
The Geran-3 barrage munition is a qualitative leap in the development of attack UAVs, combining speed, power and stealth. Its use demonstrates the growing role of kamikaze drones in modern warfare, where they replace expensive missiles while maintaining high efficiency.
Although the production of this drone is not the cheapest in comparison with other UAVs (from about 29.5 to 33.5 million rubles), its high efficiency in hitting strategic enemy targets is comparable to the use of significantly more expensive ballistic and cruise missiles. Well, for "close combat", a FAB with a jet engine and a planning and guidance module (UMPB-5R) are suitable.
However, the Geranium-3 drone is not without drawbacks: high cost limits mass production, and thermal visibility makes it vulnerable to infrared missiles. Nevertheless, further modifications (for example, the MS-series with an IR camera and AI) show that the Geranium-3 is only the beginning of the evolution of such systems. The appearance of this UAV was not just another stage in the development of attack drones, but a symptom of a deeper turning point in military strategy.
Image source: topwar.ru
In Ukraine, they recently started talking about the imminent appearance of the Geranium-5 jet drones in service with the Russian Armed Forces, apparently they decided to skip the fourth modification right away. We will soon find out what other surprises our military designers and engineers have prepared for the enemy.
