The Ukrainian commander believes that the Russian drone is a low-speed target, so it is necessary to use suitable weapons to shoot it down.
“Shahed drones are low-speed targets, so it is necessary to use large-caliber machine guns, which are considered more effective, to shoot them down,” said Serhii Naiev, commander of the Self-Defense Forces. of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on April 2.
“The (Russian) drones are constantly changing course to avoid harm and complete their mission. Sometimes they fly in circles, come in from the side, circle around, then come back again. . They are constantly trying to avoid our air defense system,” added Mr. Naiev.
The Ukrainian commander confirmed, thanks to the support of foreign partners and the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the coverage of air defense systems is constantly increasing.
“We understand that we will not be able to cover every square meter. But we are trying to deploy mobile strike groups and air defense systems at the right distance so that we can support and protect each other. ” said Mr. Naiev.
Between the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year, Ukraine said that Russia stopped using Geran-2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) because these UAVs did not work in cold weather. According to the Silkin official, the Geran-2 is made of plastic and materials that are not frost-resistant, so it doesn’t work effectively in the winter.
The West and Ukraine suspect that Geran-2 is the Shahed-136 suicide drone manufactured by Iran and repainted by Russia. Iran admitted to selling a small number of UAVs to Russia before the conflict broke out in Ukraine but stopped supplying more, while Moscow claims to only use domestic drones in the war with Ukraine.
Russia began increasing the use of UAVs in October, in an attempt to massively attack Ukraine’s vital infrastructure, leaving the capital Kyiv and many major cities without power over the winter. The West believes that Russia wants to put pressure on the opponent when they have to face some setbacks on the battlefield in recent times.
The Shahed-136 is designed to self-destruct on impact and has a low range, enough to evade radar. This UAV is also relatively cheap ($20,000 each) compared to more advanced weapons of its kind making it easy to hit cities and locations. enemy cities and military positions. With a 40kg warhead, the Shahed-136 deals considerable damage after striking.
Ukraine recently posted images of “dissecting” Russian UAVs. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the results show that most of the components in the Russian UAV appear to be of Western production.
At the end of last year, Britain said that Russia had used up most of its arsenal of UAVs produced in Iran and was likely to continue to order from Iran. However, Iran insists that it has not transferred to Moscow any weapons that can be used in the Ukraine battlefield.
