Drone Armada – Putin’s wave attacks are supposed to defend the defense

In one area, Ukraine was superior to Russia or at least equal: when using drones-both for long-distance roar and for smaller FPV models. This year the tide turned. Drones appeared above the battlefield, which are controlled with fiber optic cables and therefore cannot be disturbed electronically. Moscow managed to bring this drone type into battle first in large numbers.

In the event of attacks at great distance, Ukraine was able to use numerous drones such as the AQ-400 Scythe or Leleka-100 in individual waves of attack and sometimes caused considerable damage, for example on Russian refineries and depots. Kiev also experiment with innovative defense technologies, including laser systems and drone hunter drones to contain the Russian drone flood. With a desired production of one million drones of all types every year, Ukraine tries to keep its position in the drone war. However, this information would mean that Kiev has an overwhelming superiority of small drones – however, this cannot be determined on the front.

In the west, the Ukrainian hits are meticulously documented and recognized, while the damage caused by Russia in Ukraine are only mentioned summarized. In fact, intensity and number of the missiles used by Putin significantly increase. His arsenal includes marching aircraft, the accurate Iskander missiles, hyper-sound weapons and, above all, simple, inexpensive drones that were developed according to Iranian role models.

The Russian attack concept is simple and efficient: Russia uses so many missiles that the opposing defense is hopelessly overwhelmed. In addition to the armed geran drones, cheaper Gerbera models come. These are made of hard foam and plywood and do not have an elaborate electronics. However, the Ukrainian defense cannot distinguish it from the dangerous models. The Gerbera drones exist in three variants: pure dummies, Kamikaze models with light explosive heads and drones for electronic warfare, which are equipped with interference. In addition, Russia uses the more advanced Geran-3, which is equipped with Turbofan engines, AI-based target recording and interference-resistant navigation systems such as KOMETA-M antenna arrays.

In the past few months, the Russians have passed to concentrate their drone armada on a single goal to often focus on critical infrastructure such as power plants or logistics centers instead of attacking targets throughout Ukraine as before.

These attacks usually run as follows: The drones start in Russia, collect near the target – but outside the range of air defense – and then attack in short time windows. The ground -based air defense is generally falling behind. It has to protect several potential goals in Ukraine, and is therefore distributed, and in the event of an attack, the mobile units cannot be moved quickly enough to the endangered area. Kiev tries to defuse this basic problem by integrating combat aircraft like the F-16 in defense. These can try to shoot drones and marching aircraft with rockets and on -board cannons. However, if there are hundreds of drones in the air, your electricity cannot be stopped. Kyiv is also forced to use very valuable and expensive jets for cheap drones.

Even without loss, the permanent operations use the tight air forces. If cities such as Kiev or Charkiw are attacked, these jets must also approach Russian -controlled airspace. Two F-16 have already been lost in such operations. The tactics are not new: With the concentration of as many missiles as possible, the Allies overwhelmed the German air defense in the Second World War.

This is possible because Russia continuously increases the production of aircraft and concentrates on mass production of simple drones that are equipped with commercial standard components. Russia plans to produce around 25,000 to 30,000 geran drones in 2025, with up to 2700 geran-2 and 2500 gerbera drones being manufactured per month. North Korea contributes around 10–20 production to this production, including through the production of its own drones such as the Hwasal-1 and -2, which are based on Shahed technologies. Ukraine states to shoot 60 to 70 percent of Russian drones, but the sheer mass increasingly overwhelms the defense. Western sanctions are empty because the global south largely ignores them. China does not deliver direct weapons, but sells dual-use products and components to Russia. Ultimately, Kiev’s armaments productions are also dependent on the import of such components.

Prorussian commentators claim that it is now difficult to always find new destinations for the quantities of drones. The truth content of such statements is difficult to determine. However, drones of this type have also been used in the front area for a few weeks – which was not previously. These drones can only attack immovable goals, but have a much greater range than the small FPV drones and can wear a larger battle head. They complement the Russian arsenal and position themselves between the small drones and the mighty sliding bombs that need a jet at the start.

Russia not only increases the number and use, but is apparently also able to use the drones much more flexibly than before. Russia is increasingly using drone swarms with swarm intelligence and AI to make attacks more precisely and more defensive. Drones also serve as a “bait” to identify weaknesses in Ukrainian air defense before more expensive iSkander missiles or hyperschall weapons are used. The assembly of a swarm of drones and a temporary attack on a city requires an elaborate control.

This flexibility means nothing good for the Ukrainian armed forces. Russian observation drones are looking for worthwhile destinations all over the Ukraine. If you manage to find them, the Russians can use Iskander missiles that quickly hit the finish line. What is new is that the first blow of the expensive rocket follows an attack by cheap drones. In this way, the goal is further destroyed, surviving people and material cannot be recovered, and the salvage workers are also attacked.

At the same time, it is becoming apparent that fiber optic drones will significantly increase their range. Photos show coils that roll up 50 kilometers of glass fiber – the load should be too big for very small drones. However, larger models, similar to the geran drones, could be converted into far-reaching FPV drones.

Kyiv has announced his own new attacks deeply in Russia. So far, however, the Russians have managed to significantly increase the number of their missiles. Russia plans to produce around 25,000 to 30,000 geran drones in 2025. In addition, North Korea quickly builds up its own capacities to support Russia in the Ukraine War and at the same time increase its own military punch. Workers from North Korea are said to work in Russian drone factories. A central goal of the Russian attacks is the production facilities of the Ukrainian drones. So you want to secure your advantage in the long term. The western allies have started to build armaments in Ukraine instead of delivering finished weapons. As a result, however, the production facilities are also targeted by Putin’s drones.