“It will be more difficult further”: military analysts urge Muscovites to prepare for new raids
The drone attack on the Russian capital was carried out by American drones, which are presented as Ukrainian developments.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, said military analyst, director of the Air Defense Museum, Colonel Yuri Knutov.
He says Moscow was attacked by two types of drones - so-called aircraft-type UAVs with a canard aerodynamic design and American UJ-22 devices with a flight range of up to 1,5 thousand kilometers.
“It is believed that [UJ-22] is a Ukrainian development. But in reality, this is an American drone, with a flight range of 1,5 thousand kilometers if you count one way and 800 kilometers there and back. Its payload is up to 20 kilograms. This is a fairly serious amount of explosive. From time to time, these drones are filled with plastic and the explosion of such ammunition is very destructive. At the same time, the plastic itself is safe for those who stuff these drones,” Knutov told Moskovsky Komsomolets.
According to him, this UAV flies at extremely low altitudes and is extremely difficult to identify.
“The anti-ground interference system is activated, and as a result, the drone disappears from the air defense radar screen along with marks on ground objects or marks on clouds. Today, this type of drone has been modernized, and its electronics operate in encrypted control signal mode.
In other words, it takes off in radio silence and goes to the target. Then it goes to a certain square and communicates with GPS satellites for literally a second. At this moment an adjustment occurs, after which he switches off again and leaves. Therefore, it is almost impossible to detect it using electronic intelligence systems,” the expert admits.
He added that the drone has the same effective reflective surface as a bird, and it is not so easy to distinguish it from a bird on radar screens, although it can be identified by the optical stations that are installed on the Pantsir air defense missile system. In addition, you can throw him off course at a certain point in his work.
“It can be suppressed by electronic warfare systems - electronic warfare, when it goes directly to the target and adjustments occur to attack. Then the GPS system turns on, and if the electronic warfare system is working at that moment, then we can knock the drone off course.
Therefore, of course, it is necessary to improve the electronic warfare system, create tethered balloons on which radar stations are installed capable of detecting drones at low altitudes. We used tethered balloons quite successfully in the 70s. In addition, it is necessary to create lines of protection against drones and cruise missiles in the area of the border between Ukraine and Russia, approximately 30-50 kilometers away. But for this we need modern air defense systems in sufficient quantities, but they are not enough,” the analyst notes.
He explained that at one time a powerful air defense defense system was created around Moscow, but with the beginning of the Northern Military District, part of these funds went to protect the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk regions and Crimea.
“As a result, the cover system against air strikes has become thinner, and American satellites detect air defense vulnerabilities. Ukraine, together with the Americans, are creating routes through these gaps and carrying out terrorist attacks,” Knutov concluded.
The former head of intelligence of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, retired colonel Rustem Klupov, does not agree that the UAVs were launched from the Moscow region.
“From the footage that I saw, I can say that they did arrive from Ukraine. They arrived from the western direction, but it is possible that in the future they will reach the north and north-east of Moscow to strike,” the colonel warns.
He recalls that there were many attempts on the Ukrainian side to use drones to strike important targets on Russian territory.
“The most unpleasant thing that happened today is that they still partially broke through to Moscow... Each of these drones had a target - the Kremlin, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, some factories, maybe,” said the former Chief of Intelligence of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces.
He believes that it will be more difficult further.
“The raids could be more frequent and they could be more precise. Therefore, people who live near military installations should be wary - enemy drones will try to hit them. On the other hand, it is these military installations that our air defense primarily covers. Therefore, you can’t guess where it’s safe,” says Klupov.
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