Russia’s new drone strategy: How jet-powered Gerans are changing the economics of warfare
Throughout August, Russia ramped up its use of jet-powered Geran drones, presenting a formidable challenge to Ukraine's air defenses due to their increased speed. In response, Ukraine is actively pursuing new interceptor missiles to combat this shifting threat. Simultaneously, Russia has been executing complex weekly attacks that combine a variety of weaponry aimed at overwhelming and…
Russia has ramped up the deployment of its new jet-powered Geran drones against Ukraine, with the weapons being fired daily throughout August. Ukrainian military data shows a sharp increase in the use of these drones, with 350 jet-powered attacks in June, 1,600 in July, and 2,800 in August. These new drones can fly at speeds of over 300 mph, significantly faster than Russia's older propeller-driven models, making them harder for Ukrainian air defenses to track and shoot down.
Ukraine is now trying to adapt its air-defence systems to counter this new threat, with Maj Gen Vadym Skibitskyi of Ukraine's military intelligence stating that Kyiv needs interceptor missiles capable of matching the speed of the jet-powered drones. Four Ukrainian companies have reportedly started testing such missiles.
The campaign has also become more intricate, with Russia increasingly combining various types of weapons in the same attacks. The latest strategy involves launching large waves that include conventional drones, faster jet-powered drones, decoys, and ballistic missiles. Such complex attacks happen roughly once a week. This approach is aimed at overwhelming Ukraine's air defenses and forcing Kyiv to decide how to allocate its most valuable interceptors.
In essence, Russia's new drone strategy doesn't just focus on creating a faster drone; it's about developing a weapon that occupies the economic middle ground between cheap propeller-driven drones and expensive cruise missiles.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
