War in Ukraine - New technology makes Russian drones and missiles even more dangerous
Russia is currently launching a strategic air offensive against Ukraine. Cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones are being fired at targets in Ukraine on an unprecedented scale. For Kiev and its Western supporters, these waves of weapons are a shock. They prove that the calculation that Russia would run out of offensive weapons was wrong.
The most dangerous are ballistic missiles and the Ch-47M2 Kinschal hypersonic weapon, but Russia has also managed to improve the cheap Geran drones, which are based on Iranian models.
Drones with jet propulsion
The drones have become significantly faster. The original drones are powered by a propeller at the rear, which in turn is driven by a better lawnmower engine. This drive is very cheap, but the speed is limited to around 200 km/h. In a dive, it can climb to 300 km/h. Thanks to a jet engine, the new version of the Geran drone can reach 450 to 600 km/h and a top speed of up to 800 km/h in a dive.
Iran has also introduced a new version of the Shahed drone with a turbojet engine. The higher speed makes the work of air defense more difficult, because the faster the low-flying drones travel, the shorter the time they are in the detection range of air defense. However, the drone with a jet engine is also likely to be more expensive. One advantage of the old models was that they were very cheap to produce. A Shahed 236 is significantly cheaper than a western air defense missile. At the same time, consumption is likely to increase with the jet engine, so that the drone can carry more fuel and less explosives at the same range.
Missiles with decoys
A much more dangerous weapon than the Geran drones are the Ch-101 airborne cruise missiles. This weapon is already equipped with stealth technology. It has a long range of over 3000 kilometers and can approach the target at low altitude at speeds of just under 1000 km/h.
These hard-to-detect missiles have recently received a further improvement. They can now eject decoys - so-called flares - in flight. Flares are a type of compact "sparkler"; they are transported by a container inside the missile and ejected when required. Their heat development then confuses the target detection of a defensive missile. Flares are not 100% effective, but give the missile a good chance of survival, even if it is attacked by air defenses. In practice, this innovation means that the Ukrainians have to fire more expensive defensive missiles at a cruise missile in order to achieve a good probability of being shot down. Given the number of Russian missiles, this can overwhelm the air defenses.
Cheap camouflage
Other smaller improvements show that the Russians have optimized their attack arsenal. Even simple drones are now given a simple carbon camouflage coating. This does not make these drones completely invisible to the enemy, but their radar shadow is reduced.
Kiev also reported that the Geran drones will be equipped with Ukrainian SIM cards. In addition to satellite navigation, the drones will be able to determine their location and course using the radio masts with which the SIM card has contact. In future, the Geran drones will be manufactured entirely in Russia; a site has been set up in the Alabuga special economic zone for this purpose. Up to 6000 drones a year are to be built here, as licensed production and not as an assembly line for Iranian components.
The aim is to overwhelm the air defenses
At present, nobody knows how large the Russian stocks are and how long Russia can carry out such intensive attacks. Nevertheless, the attacks are more dangerous than last year. The individual targets are being attacked with a mix of different weapons. The calculation is to exhaust the air defenses. The Ukrainians are to be forced to use their precious defensive missiles for the Geran drones so that the more dangerous missiles and rockets can get through. If a target is attacked with ten missiles, it will be destroyed even if the Ukrainians manage to achieve eight launches.
The action on the night of January 2 is typical. The capital Kiev was first attacked by Geran drones. Afterwards, Ch-101, Ch-55 and Ch-555 missiles were launched from aircraft. More than ten Kinschal missiles are said to have been used. These waves of attacks have a devastating effect in the cities of Ukraine, even if the Russian weapons are intercepted. In defensive combat over cities and built-up areas, everything comes down somewhere. If the Russian weapons miss their original target, they fall to the ground uncontrollably. The same applies to defensive missiles.
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- Despite Iran's assistance, Russia has enhanced the capabilities of its Geran drones, making them faster and more difficult to intercept.
- The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has seen Russia employ a diverse arsenal of weapons, including drones and missiles, with a strategic goal of overwhelming Ukraine's air defenses.
- In response to Western air defense systems, Russia has equipped its Ch-101 cruise missiles with decoy flares, increasing their chances of evading interception.
Source: www.stern.de
