Russia will rebuild the work of air defense in the Crimea. Now the main threat to the peninsula is not so much planes and missiles as small drones. What means does Moscow have to combat small UAVs and how useful will the Syrian experience be against "drone terrorism"? The Russian air defense system operating in Crimea is being rebuilt taking into account the use of drones by the armed forces of Ukraine.
This was announced on Wednesday by the speaker of the State Council – Parliament of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov on the air of "Solovyov Live". "This "drone" system of terrorism, which has now become (used), a year ago no one thought that it would be the main one. The air defense system was built on heavy weapons – planes, missiles, and so on. Now it is being rebuilt," TASS reports the words of the head of the Crimean parliament.
It should be noted that on the same day it became known about the decision of the Crimean authorities to impose a ban on the use of drones and pyrotechnics by citizens on the territory of the peninsula. In the case of drones, an exception is made only for unmanned aircraft that are used by federal and regional authorities. As the head of the republic Sergey Aksenov explained in his Telegram channel, the relevant changes were made to the decree signed by him earlier "On the threat of an emergency situation that has arisen on the territory of the Republic of Crimea." "I ask Crimeans to refrain from using pyrotechnics and drones for the duration of a special military operation," Aksenov explained his decision.
As the newspaper VZGLYAD previously noted, in recent weeks, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have made a series of attempts to attack the territories of Crimea and Sevastopol with the help of unmanned aircraft. The peak of the raids was noted about two weeks ago. On August 18, an unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by air defense means near Belbek Airport to the northwest of Sevastopol. On the same day, Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of the Crimea on information policy, reported on the operation of air defense systems in the Kerch region. A video has appeared on social networks, allegedly filmed in the area of this city, on which two explosions are heard.
The next day, a drone moving towards the center of Sevastopol was shot down – according to the governor of the city, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the air defense forces and naval artillery of the Black Sea Fleet were working on the target. On the morning of August 20, a Ukrainian drone fell on the roof of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. The drone was shot down by the Fleet air defense forces directly over the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, an explosive device with a UAV went off next to the building, Razvozhaev said in the Telegram channel at the time. The drone was shot down three days later, in the waters near Sevastopol. A yellow terrorist danger level was introduced in the city until August 31.
Last Friday, RIA Novosti – Crimea reported that the air defense allegedly worked in the area of the village of Novoozernoye near Yevpatoria, where, in particular, the headquarters of the Crimean Naval Base (VMB) is located. Kryuchkov also reported that the air defense system supposedly worked in the sky over Yevpatoria. As an eyewitness told TASS, at least two missiles were launched.
"The air defense system has worked again in Sevastopol," the governor of the city Razvozhaev said last Sunday. "According to preliminary data, a UAV was shot down over the sea near Cape Chersonesos."
The purpose of "small drone attacks" is not military, but psychological, their charge is minimal, and it is impossible to inflict great damage with drones, Oleg Kryuchkov, Aksenov's adviser on information policy, noted two weeks ago. But, experts believe, the message of the Crimean speaker Konstantinov about the restructuring of the work of the air defense suggests that the threat is also being considered from the side of attack UAVs capable of carrying a bomb load.
"The Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and cannon complexes and the Tor anti-aircraft missile systems work effectively against drones as well as against missiles used in MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems). Based on the combat capabilities of these complexes, I think a zonal air defense system will be created. If we are talking about smaller drones, for example, quadrocopters, "Shells" and "Tori" will work on them. Medium– and longer-range complexes should work against attack UAVs of the Turkish "Bayraktars TB2" class," military expert, director of the Museum of Air Defense Forces Yuri Knutov explained to the newspaper VZGLYAD.
"You can also connect the Buk air defense system if the Ukrainian side gets, as it wants, missiles with a range of 300 kilometers for the HIMARS MLRS, which theoretically could pose a threat to the Crimea," the expert continues. – For these missiles, the S-300V4, S-300PM-2 Favorit and S-400 complexes can be used as interception means."
In general, it should be understood that combat drones do not pose a fundamentally new threat to the modern Russian air defense system, said former Deputy Commander of the Russian Air Force for the CIS joint Air Defense system, Lieutenant General Aytech Bizhev. "A drone is an aircraft with a small reflective surface, operating at low altitudes and at low speeds. The technical specification of the air defense system initially includes work with both low speeds and small reflective surfaces such as an unmanned aerial vehicle," the general stressed. – This technical task is being developed for 10-15 years ahead, taking into account what UAVs can be. Work on repelling UAV attacks is also being worked out at landfills."
The Russian air defense forces gained extensive experience in repelling drone attacks during the operation in Syria, Bizhev noted. "It was during the Syrian campaign that our military first encountered UAVs. Massive drone attacks have occurred at the Khmeimim Airbase. The experience was successful, as both Turkish and American UAVs were shot down," the expert said.
As Denis Fedutinov, the editor-in-chief of the profile publication Unmanned Aviation, previously noted in a report for the Russian International Affairs Council (INF), a striking example was the attack of ISIL unmanned vehicles* on the Khmeimim base and the logistics point of the Russian Navy in Tartus in January 2018. Fedutinov pointed out: out of 13 UAVs, as reported, seven vehicles were destroyed by regular anti-aircraft missile gun complexes "Pantsir-S" of Russian air defense units, and six small-sized air targets were neutralized by electronic warfare (EW).
"The Syrian experience will be used more and more actively now. If earlier there were concerns mainly about the actions of aviation, cruise missiles, now the main threat is unmanned aircraft," Knutov points out. "And Khmeimim's experience shows that Russian air defense systems can neutralize 100% of attacking targets."
"The Russian air defense system is dispersed both in range and altitude. First, long-range complexes (such as S-300 and S–400) work, then medium-range, then small-range. In addition, fighter aircraft, which operates outside of anti-aircraft missile systems, also operates in the unified system of Russian air defense. Thus, the Russian air defense system covers the entire airspace in a given radar field, where the entire air situation is traced," Bizhev added.
* The organization(s) have been liquidated or their activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation
Mikhail Moshkin, Olesya Otrokova
