Russian forces in southern Ukraine are adopting a new defensive strategy to deal with "silent" updated versions of Ukraine's heavy-duty attack drones, according to the former head of Moscow's space agency.
Kyiv has increased the range and stealth of its Baba Yaga drones, Dmitry Rogozin, the former chief of Roscosmos, acknowledged in a statement on Tuesday, as the race for drone supremacy rages on, more than two years into full-scale war in Ukraine.
"We'll destroy them later, when we've studied their habits, routes and tactics," Rogozin added in a post to messaging app Telegram. "The main thing is not to shoot down the drones, but to kill their operators by finding their hiding place."
Russian forces detect the incoming UAVs using night-vision cameras stationed around the edge of their positions, rather than listening for the drones' approaches, added Rogozin, who serves as a Moscow-installed official in Ukraine's annexed southern Zaporizhzhia region.
"The drones were inaudible, but clearly visible in the thermal imaging scopes at a distance of several kilometers," he said. Rogozin has previously branded the Baba Yaga drones as "extremely dangerous" for Russian troops, deployed in pairs alongside first-person-view (FPV) drones.
The uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) is thought to be a modified agricultural drone, often designed as a quadcopter, hexacopter or octocopter, Samuel Bendett, of the U.S think tank CNA, told Newsweek earlier this month.
Russia is attempting to build its own, equivalent drone, but does not currently have an analogue to the Baba Yagas, Bendett said, adding: "Ukrainians are experts in flying these UAVs."
Rogozin acknowledged Ukraine's advance in the drone technology, adding on Tuesday: "This is no longer a remodeling of an agrarian drone into a combat drone, but a separate type of heavy helicopter-type UAV with electric engines and a powerful battery to increase its range," he added.
The more than two years of all-out war in Ukraine has spurred on rapid and often innovative drone development, with both Kyiv and Moscow constantly working to outcompete the other.
Drones are used widely across the battlefield, many of which are designed to careen towards a target and explode, gather intelligence or guide artillery strikes.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Kyiv's minister of digital transformation, heading up Ukraine's drone efforts against Russia, told Newsweek in December that "they work sometimes even more efficiently than artillery."
The conflict has pushed speedy evolution in ground, airborne and waterborne uncrewed vehicles. Moscow and Kyiv are thought to burn through hundreds of drones each day.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more
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