Silent final approach may let Russian jet drones slip past some of Ukraine’s acoustic sensors, ISW says

Russian forces are employing a tactic to allow their Shahed-type attack drones to fly the final stages of their route silently, potentially evading some of Ukraine's acoustic sensors, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a defense technologies adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reported on this technique on November 12.

Despite Russia's continued strikes on Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles, the effectiveness of countering these drones was noted to decrease from 89% for conventional Shaheds to 66% for their jet-powered counterparts in October. Though no extra motor is used, the existing jet engine enables the drone to fly silently once the engine is switched off, increasing warning time for Ukrainian crews is crucial.

ISW suggests that Russia's recent attempts to approach targets at low altitudes to stay undetected by radars should be accounted for by Ukrainian mobile fire groups and other units to mitigate this threat.