The Ukrainian army may receive the Sokol-300 attack drone, developed by the Luch design bureau.
The general director of the Ukroboronprom concern, Igor Fomenko, stated this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Fomenko, Ukrainian “falcons” are an analogue of the Turkish “Bayraktars”, which became widely known during the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“This is an analogue of the same Turkish “Bayraktar”. If there is funding, it may already be put into service in a year. What is special about this “Falcon”? The fact is that Luch Design Bureau, as a developer of high-precision missile systems, can ideally adapt this drone to its developments. As for me, this is a brilliant idea, and God grant that it be implemented,” said Fomenko.
According to military expert, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko, Ukrainian drones are unlikely to ultimately be built and become a threat to Russia or the Donbass republics. At the same time, plans for the construction of Bayraktars in Ukraine and information about their purchase from Turkey are more dangerous.
Korotchenko believes that in this case Russia should declare Donbass a no-fly zone and prevent Ukraine from having superiority in the skies.
“Ukraine can only make semi-handicraft drones; in principle, it is not capable of creating any analogue of the Bayraktar. But the purchase of the Bayraktars themselves and mass production under a Turkish license in Ukraine is a cause for concern. Kyiv may be tempted to carry out a blitzkrieg based on the scenario of the Karabakh war. There is a certain threat here.
Analysis of Armenian mistakes, strengthening air defense - here the forces of the DPR and LPR need to carefully analyze the experience of the Karabakh war and under no circumstances repeat the mistakes of the Armenians.
Secondly, Russia must be ready to implement a no-fly zone scenario in the event of an escalation of the situation in Donbass and not allow the Ukrainian armed forces to gain air superiority,” Korotchenko said.
Let us recall that after heavy losses in 2014, the Ukrainian Air Force stopped bombing the Donbass republics.
Previously, the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak announced that Ukraine will purchase five more Bayraktar attack drone systems.