War in Ukraine: What are the ‘kamikaze drones’ that Russia is accused of using in the war

Ukraine has accused Russia of using “kamikaze” drones against civilian targets in Kiev. These devices carry explosives that detonate on impact, destroying the drone in the process.

What is Russia’s ‘kamikaze’ drone?

Russia is believed to have been using the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone in the conflict in Ukraine since mid-September.

Also called Geranium-2 by Russia, it has explosives in a warhead housed in the front and is designed to fly over a target until instructed to attack.

The Shahed-136 has a wingspan of about 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and can be difficult to detect by radar.

Drone Shahed-136

• Maximum range: 2,500 km
• Max speed: 185km/h
• Wingspan: 2.5 m
• Warhead weight: 30-50 kg

How is Ukraine defending itself?

“They fly low and you can send them out in waves. These swarms of drones are much harder to fight for air defenses,” military expert Justin Crump tells the BBC.

Ukrainian air defense teams around Kiev have been using anti-aircraft missiles to try to shoot them down.

In early October, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said they were intercepting 60% of all Shahed-136 drones.

The Shahed-136 is relatively cheap to replace, with a drone costing around US$20,000.

It’s unclear exactly how many Russia has, but the US has said Iran plans to send hundreds to Russia. Iran denied having done so.

Has Ukraine used ‘kamikaze’ drones?

It is unclear whether they were used by Ukraine, but experts believe they may have been deployed in recent attacks on a Russian military base in western Crimea, an air base near Sevastopol and ships in the harbor.

“If you look at the explosions in the attacks, they are quite small. I suspect they are homemade drones, which have had explosives strapped to them,” says Marina Miron, a researcher in defense studies at King’s College London.

What other drones do Ukraine and Russia have?

Ukraine’s main military drone is the Bayraktar TB2, made in Turkey. It’s the size of a small plane, has onboard cameras, and can be armed with laser-guided bombs.

At the start of the war, Ukraine had a fleet of “less than 50” of them, says Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank.

Russia also uses the “smaller and more basic” Orlan-10, which has cameras and can carry small bombs.

Drone Bayraktar TB2

• Maximum altitude: 7,600 m
• Max Range: 300km
• Max speed: 220km/h
• Weapons: 4 MAM-L laser-guided bombs
• Wingspan 12 m

How have military drones been used?

On both sides — Russia and Ukraine — drones have been effective in locating enemy targets and directing artillery fire towards them.

“Russian forces can attack the enemy within just three to five minutes of an Orlan-10 drone detecting a target,” says Watling.

Otherwise, an attack can take 20 to 30 minutes to perform.

Marina Miron of King’s College says drones have allowed Ukraine to expand its forces.

“In the past, to locate enemy positions, it was necessary to send in special forces units … and soldiers would certainly be killed in the process,” she says. “Now all you risk is a drone.”

In the first weeks of the war, Ukraine’s Bayraktar drones were widely praised.

“They were shown attacking targets such as ammunition dumps and played a major role in the sinking of the Moskva [navio de guerra]”, says Miron.

However, many Bayraktars were destroyed by Russia’s air defense systems as they were large and slow.

How are non-military drones being used?

Military drones are expensive to replace — a single Bayraktar TB2 costs around $2 million.

So both sides — but especially Ukraine — also use small commercial models, like the DJI Mavic 3, which costs around £1,700.

These commercial drones can be equipped with small bombs. However, they are mainly used to locate enemy troops and direct attacks.

“Ukraine doesn’t have as much ammunition as Russia,” says Miron. “Having ‘eyes in the sky’ to detect targets and fire direct artillery means they can make better use of what they have.”

But commercial drones are much less powerful than military ones.

For example, the total flight distance of the DJI Mavic is only 30 km and its range is a maximum of 46 minutes.

Russia is using electronic devices to fight them, says Miron.

“Russian forces have the Stupor rifle, which shoots electromagnetic pulses,” she says. This prevents commercial drones from being able to navigate using GPS, she adds.

Russian forces have also used online systems such as Aeroscope to detect and disrupt communications between commercial drones and their operators.

These systems can cause a drone to crash or return to base, and can prevent it from sending information.

DJI Mavic 3

• Maximum altitude: 6000m
• Max range: 30km
• Top speed: 68.4 km/h
• Weapons: 4 MAM-L laser-guided bombs
• Wingspan 28.3 cm

This text was originally published here.