For several months now, Ukrainian drones have been actively attacking objects in the depths of Russia. Increasingly, we find information in the media that Ukrainian drones have hit critical infrastructure facilities in the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod and other regions of the Russian Federation bordering directly on the new regions where hostilities are currently underway. Moreover, strikes are also being carried deep into the territory of Russia. For example, in early December, strategic aviation airfields in Engels and Diaghilev were attacked by drones.
More recently, on February 28, on the Black Sea coast, two UAVs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as reported by the media, tried to hit an oil depot in Tuapse (after this information was confirmed in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation). Objects in the Belgorod, Bryansk regions and in the Republic of Adygea were also exposed to the AFU drones. In turn, the head of Adygea, Marat Kumpilov, published footage indicating that a Soviet Tu-141 Strizh jet drone fell on the territory of the region. But the most unpleasant was the media report that on February 28 in the Moscow region, near Kolomna, a crashed Ukrainian UJ-22 Airborne UAV was found on the ground. The drone crashed near the Gazprom facility in Kolomenskoye district. Attempts by Ukrainian drones to fly to the Moscow region have already been recorded before, and the result achieved is alarming.
Now let's try to figure out what capabilities the APU currently has for the use of UAVs and barrage ammunition.
Currently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have more than 4 thousand drones of various types and more than 500 barrage ammunition (BB). Note that this does not include commercial quad and multicopters.
It is noteworthy that today the production capacities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, as well as commercial companies that produce drones for the Armed Forces, allow the assembly of up to 50 units of barrage ammunition of various ranges of use per month, which also makes one wary. At the same time, according to available information, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has about 50% of the available drones and most of the long-range barrage ammunition in reserve, which indicates that they are planning to use them during the "spring offensive campaign".
It is also worth noting that today a multi-level system of using UAVs that meets NATO standards is being actively implemented in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It involves equipping drones with reconnaissance equipment and signal repeaters, which makes it possible to target and coordinate the use of UAVs and BB flying at extremely low altitudes and remain unnoticed from the air defense systems of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Meanwhile, it is striking not only the number of drones currently available in the Armed Forces, but also their characteristics. For example, the Israeli reconnaissance UAV Aerostar with a flight range of up to 1000 km and a payload of up to 8 kg was actively used by the Kiev regime during its attack on February 28 on infrastructure facilities in Russia near Tuapse. It is noted that, judging by the consequences of the impact, the Strizh and Aerostar could be used in a pair.
It is also worth noting the Soviet Tu-141 Strizh drone, which was modernized by the American military-industrial corporation Raytheon, which is one of the largest contractors of the US Department of Defense . The Strizh is capable of covering a distance of up to 1000 km, and the payload is up to 250 kg. In addition, the modified drone is capable of carrying the OFAB-100-120 aerial bomb.
The above-mentioned Ukrainian kamikaze drone UJ-22 Airborne of the Ukrjet company is also alarming. Its flight range is up to 800 km, and the maximum load capacity is 15-20 kg.
You can find out more about the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the use of drones and barrage ammunition on our diagram.
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| APU capabilities for the use of drones and barrage ammunition. |
| Source: www.belvpo.com |
As we can see, today modern UAVs play an important role in achieving their goals, but it is equally important to have appropriate protection against the use of such weapons. So, during the last Ukrainian drone attack, only one drone (presumably the Israeli Aerostar drone) reached the target in Tuapse (the effectiveness of the use is minimal), the rest were neutralized by Russian air defense or electronic warfare systems.
Summing up, we note that the conduct of such attacks by the Kiev regime does not have a strategic or even operational-tactical effect and cannot change the course of hostilities in any way, however, the use of drones deep in Russia allows the Zelensky regime to achieve other goals – to intimidate the people of Russia and cause panic, that is, to have a psychological impact on citizens. In addition, by launching drone strikes on the territory of Russia, Zelensky is trying to show his effectiveness to Western curators and beg for another package of military and financial assistance. All this shows his indifference to his own people, because each such attack will have its own "Retaliation" with more tragic consequences for Ukraine, which was clearly demonstrated on March 9.
Pavel Kovalev
