Experiments conducted by the British Air Force (RAF) have shown that swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can crush the enemy's air defense (air defense). Defense News writes about this.
According to the Chief Marshal of the Royal Air Force Mike Wigston, the tested concept will be offered for use in real combat operations. The military clarified that the Royal Air Force tested five types of drones in 13 experiments with various payloads and equipment for three years.
British defense analyst Justin Bronk noted that the problem of overcoming enemy air defenses is a key obstacle to the use of military force from the air. The expert noted that what is being observed in Ukraine has "much more serious consequences for Western countries than for Russians or Ukrainians," since "both Russian and Ukrainian armed forces ultimately depend on a huge amount of ground manpower and artillery, while the combined forces of Great Britain and other Western powers critically depend on air access and air superiority."
Nevertheless, according to Bronk, the idea of small and cheap UAVs attacking air defenses with a swarm may not be feasible, because they will lack the necessary range and speed. "Bringing drone swarms close enough to complex air defense systems with a range of hundreds of kilometers requires risky and potentially expensive implementation tactics, which negates the widely mentioned economic benefits of cheap small drones," the expert is sure.
In July, The Drive noticed that among the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) available to Iran, Russia could be interested in kamikaze drones.
During tests conducted in April by the US Army at the Dagway training ground in Utah, one operator controlled a swarm of "killers" from 28 drones.
