The armed forces of Ukraine believe Iran may give Moscow a kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is more potent than the one already in use in Moscow.
Based on the preliminary data gathered by this unit, the General Staff of the Armed Soldiers of Ukraine claims that Iran may have plans to give Russian forces Arash-2 UAVs.
Russia has increased its use of missile attacks and Geran-2 suicide drones over the last two weeks. The Geran-2 UAV is allegedly a Shahed-136 UAV for Iran that Russia purchased and repainted, according to both the West and Ukraine.
Both Moscow and Tehran have refuted the accusations. Russia asserts that it is able to manufacture UAVs and that its military conflict with Ukraine only makes use of domestic suicide drones.
Russia has recently had a significant impact on military infrastructure, electricity, and communications with the Geran-2. Officials in Kiev claim that in less than ten days, Russia has destroyed 30–40% of Ukraine’s power plants.
Arash-2 is still mostly unknown, however experts claim that it operates similarly to a cruise missile but at a slower pace.
With a warhead that is larger and a range of up to 2,000 kilometres, Arash-2 is thought to be more potent than Geran-2. Arash-2 has the ability to make a circle before launching.
These UAVs can manoeuvre, alter course, and fly at low altitudes, which presents challenging challenges for competing air defence systems.
Military specialists from Ukraine commented on Russia’s use of suicide drones, saying that Moscow is utilising inexpensive weaponry to inflict significant harm on the Kiev side. Compared to complex cruise missiles like the Kalibr, each of these UAVs has a very straightforward operating system. However, compared to a cruise missile’s starting price of $1 million USD, it only costs 10,000–50,000 USD per unit.
This tactic is thought to be successful against Russia in a conflict that is predicted to rage for a while and show no signs of coming to an end. Meanwhile, it is thought to be a less-than-optimal economic choice for Ukraine to shoot down inexpensive UAVs with expensive interceptor missiles or even missiles from fighter jets.
The former commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Kenneth MacKenzie, acknowledged the efficiency of suicide drones.
“Theoretically, suicide UAVs can bypass air defence systems if you launch them in large numbers,” he said. “They fly at low altitudes and are very cheap to manufacture.”
IISS Director of Strategy, Technology, and Arms Control William Alberque stated to the Eurasian Times: “The threat posed by low-cost suicide drones is highly complex. In order to harm Ukraine as much as possible, Russia may deploy suicide drone attacks “.
“It is particularly challenging to defend against Russia since it has the ability to hit a wide variety of targets and does it from unexpected angles rather than just attacking them. Utilizing several kamikaze drones is another option. The likelihood of striking a target increases significantly when a large number of shots are fired from many different angles “Added he.
