Ukrainian drones approaching Moscow. Within two months, two explosive-laden drones crashed near the Russian capital. Focus I learned why the lauded Russian air defense failed to notice the threat and it was worth waiting for a “bavovna” in Moscow.
On Monday, April 24, it was learned that a drone carrying 17 kg of C-4 explosives crashed in the Bogorodsky urban area of the Moscow region. Russian journalists assured that this is a Ukrainian-made UJ-22 Airborn UAV. According to preliminary information, the reason for the drop was that the drone ran out of fuel.
On February 28, a similar UJ-22 Airborne crashed near Kolomna, 75 km from Moscow. It was later reported that the ship had about 1 kg of C-4 explosives and four shaped charges from a grenade launcher. On the same day, St. It should be noted that an air “Signal Carpet” was introduced over St. Petersburg, which often operates in case of illegal border crossing and the appearance of unknown objects in the airspace. Then the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation with the training of air defense forces in St. announced the closing of the sky over St. Petersburg.
The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, was then intrigued by the statement that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had attack aircraft with a flight range of more than 3,000 kilometers. for me Message Danilov posted on Twitter a photo of the Cessna 172 plane that German pilot Matthias Rust had landed in Moscow’s Red Square in 1987. Later, the amateur pilot managed to bypass the entire Soviet air defense system and enter the capital of the USSR unharmed.
What is UJ-22 Airborne?
The UJ-22 Airborn UAV is the development of the Ukrainian company UkrJet and is a multi-purpose unmanned attack aircraft complex. It was first introduced in 2021. The declared range is 800 km, cruising speed – 120 km / h, maximum take-off weight – 85 kg. The drone can carry unguided aerial bombs to destroy manpower, armored vehicles and ground targets. It can also perform search and rescue and reconnaissance missions in the interests of the army, police, emergency and special services. It is noteworthy that the S-4 explosives are not in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But in April 2022, the Pentagon released details of a new logistics aid package to Ukraine containing a certain amount of C-4 explosives.
Important
engagement time
The Moscow region, as well as the Belgorod region, were attacked by Ukrainian drones. According to Russian media, at least eight cases have been recorded.
Gleb Parfyonov, security coordinator of the Doctrine Center for Political Studies, is convinced that the detection of a Ukrainian UAV north of Moscow is above all a sign that not only is the Russian capital close – we can potentially fly. also, with certain modifications. This, of course, works for us, because it forces the Russians to pay more attention to the protection of the hinterland and Moscow, and to move their air defense units closer to Moscow.
“I think we should expect attacks on military and industrial facilities in the Moscow region. Actually there are many of them, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to get there several times, but the distance and accuracy were a bit lacking. . In a comment, the expert said that we are still in the phase of testing and searching for optimal opportunities and delivery routes clearly visible,” he said. Focus.
Defense Express weapons expert Oleg Katkov explains FocusJudging from the two photos, we can conclude that the drone probably got stuck in a tree as it flew at low altitude to dodge Russian radars.
“The experience of the Russians in using Shaheds in Ukraine now works against them. It is extremely difficult to detect small-sized aerial objects at low altitudes. It all depends on the efficiency of the airlines,” says the expert.
Katkov recalls that the principle of operation of any air defense is multistage and intensity of protection.
map flights
Recently, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that Ukraine was denied access to Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) maps of Belarusian territory. These maps include detailed features of the terrain, height of objects and obstacles. DTEDs were developed in the 1970s to support radar modeling and prediction of military aircraft flights, including ultra-low altitudes. Nothing can be confirmed yet, but it can be assumed that other Western partners may gain access to Russia’s DTED maps during intelligence exchange. Recall that the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), a structural subdivision of the US Department of Defense’s military support agency, also developed this type of elevation modeling.
According to military-political observer Alexander Kovalenko, the problem of Russian air defense should be added to the factor of small-sized air objects at low flight altitudes. He recalls that even before 2014, experts, including Russian experts, said that the country was not provided with small and medium air defense echelons. And in the western part of Russia, even before 2022, there were “white spots” in the work of air defense.
The “Tor-M2” and “Pantsir S-1” air defense systems assigned to these missions were put into service hastily and with some problems. First of all, they did not have time to pass the tests under the following conditions. as close as possible to fight those. Already in 2015, “during the war on the side of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the Russian army had the opportunity to test the equipment. It was the S-1 Pantsir that was supposed to cover the Khmeimim base. , but as a result, it showed the worst performance in the fight against drones,” he says. Focus expert.
Kovalenko notes that in 2022, the Russian Federation lost about 30 air defense systems of both types, although about 120 of them are in service in Ukraine, that is, the fourth division has already been destroyed. The rest cannot be repaired: due to sanctions, Moscow has limited access to technologies and spare parts, especially microcircuits.
So the question of when the Ukrainian drone will land on Red Square is only a matter of time. By the way, it is worth remembering that Ukrainian entrepreneurs have set up a reward fund in the amount of 20 million hryvnia. The money will go to the manufacturer, whose plane will land on the main square of Moscow on May 9.
Source: Focus
Bridger is a political journalist at 24 News Breaker, covering the Politics section with over 5 years of experience. Known for their detail-oriented reporting, Bridger delivers insightful and engaging analysis on political issues.