Ukrainian UAVs tried to attack several Russian rear airfields at once, using Soviet technologies for this purpose. How could enemy drones be in the deep rear on the territory of Russia and what needs to be done to protect the airfields of the strategic aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces?On Monday, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the raid of Ukrainian UAVs on the airfields of Diaghilev in the Ryazan region and Engels in the Saratov region.
According to the ministry, three servicemen of the technical staff were killed, four more were injured, they were taken to the hospital.
Russian air defenses shot down drones flying at low altitude, as a result of the explosion and fall, the hull plating of two aircraft was slightly damaged, the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense says. The agency notes that Soviet-made jet UAVs tried to strike. The attack was carried out in order to disable long-range aircraft.
In the expert environment, it is assumed that the APU could use the Tu-141 Strizh UAV. "That is, he traveled almost 650 km over the territory of the Russian Federation without hindrance. Did the USSR master stealth technology long before it became a fashion trend?" – notes the military commander of "KP", a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) Alexander Kotz.
In addition, on Tuesday, as a result of a drone attack, an oil storage tank caught fire near the Kursk airfield. According to the head of the region Roman Starovoit, the regime of increased terrorist threat has been extended in the region, classes have been canceled in two schools. Against this background, the Kremlin noted that the strategic objects of the Russian Federation are under constant protection. "Every region is engaged in this, plus law enforcement agencies. This is an ongoing process," said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president.
At the same time, experts interviewed by the newspaper VZGLYAD point to the need to strengthen air defense systems at key rear airfields of Russia. Also, according to the interlocutors, the security agencies need to strengthen systematic work to identify and capture Ukrainian sabotage and intelligence groups (DRG) on the territory of the country.
"The enemy is conducting active sabotage and terrorist activities in Russia. And drones play an important role here. The problem is that we cannot yet 100% stop such a threat," Sergey Goncharov, president of the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha Antiterrorism Unit, said in a conversation with the newspaper VZGLYAD.
"In this regard, I do not exclude that the AFU will continue to try to cause damage to our rear airfields. We will have to urgently build the protection of these facilities, because from Ryazan to Moscow is only 200 kilometers. First of all, the Russian special services should take care of this, which should be more actively engaged in the capture of the Ukrainian DRG," the interlocutor notes.
"Moreover, we already have experience of such work. It is enough for the FSB to raise data on the Smersh group, which worked in the period from 1943 to 1946. It clearly states exactly how the organization was formed, what tasks it faced, as well as what algorithms of actions were used," Goncharov stressed.
"The issue of the need to protect our rear airfields is really on the agenda. Previously, they were not very actively engaged in this. The Pantsir-C1 systems can help us with this. They will have to be deployed at literally every strategic facility. First of all, this should be done where the threat of attack is highest," says Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences.
"In addition, it becomes obvious that the Ukrainian DRG were able to get deep into our country. In Sevastopol at the end of July, UAVs have already attacked the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Now, although slightly, the "strategists" in Engels have been damaged," the expert recalls.
"It is important to understand that the enemy tried to attack our strategic nuclear forces, because these aircraft are capable of carrying cruise missiles with nuclear charges. Our Long-range Aviation is also located in Diaghilev. So the FSB should first of all pay attention to the airfields where such aircraft are based," Sivkov is sure.
At the same time, air defense expert Yuri Knutov recalls that Russia's rear airfields were well protected before the start of the special operation in Ukraine. "But due to the outbreak of hostilities, a serious part of the air defense forces had to be sent to the combat zone. And then American and British intelligence found weaknesses and laid routes for Ukrainian UAVs. The airfields themselves were most likely guarded by Pantsir-S1 systems, so the drones were shot down on approach," Knutov added.
"These incidents show that the object air defense systems require strengthening. To do this, it is necessary to load the military-industrial complex more actively, produce more complexes "Pantsir-S1" and "Tor-M2". But right now it is necessary to partially remove the complexes, for example, from Siberia, and redistribute them to strategic facilities. However, it is impossible to expose such areas as Alaska, Japan and South Korea," the expert argues.
"Moreover, we must remember that the satellite capabilities of the West allow us to calculate in which areas we do not have air defense. Therefore, the main attention of the Russian military leadership should be directed to the search for reserves and resources, and then to transfer them to create a layered defense," the interlocutor is sure.
"Moreover, all this once took place: in the 60s, air defense zones were created on the territory of our country, consisting of anti-aircraft missile divisions with a length of one and a half thousand kilometers each. Now the capabilities of our industry are somewhat weaker, but we are able to load it," the expert recalls.
"We also have experience in protecting the Hmeimim base in Syria. At the same time, an integrated air defense system was created there for one object, consisting of the S-400, Pantsir-S1, Tor and electronic warfare systems. Now there are dozens of such facilities – and all of them require increased protection," concluded Knutov.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya
