EXPLAINER: Killer drones vie for supremacy over Ukraine | Tech News

EXPLAINER: Killer drones vie for supremacy over Ukraine

  • They are precise, small in size, able to effectively penetrate air defenses when fired in groups and above all, they’re cheap.

By:AP
| Updated on: Oct 19 2022, 00:32 IST
Now, you can Snapchat from the SKY! Check out Snapchat Pixy drone
Killer drones
1/5 Developers at Snap Inc call Pixy a camera and while this is true, Pixy drone also has all the regular features of a consumer drone. Weighing just 101 grams, Snap claims the drone’s battery can last anywhere between 6 to 8 flights. (Snap Inc.)
image caption
2/5 According to Tech Radar, the Pixy drone can reach a maximum height of 30 ft. which can be pre-determined. The drone moves along four preset paths that are stored in its memory, keeping the camera focused on you. (Snap Inc.)
Killer drones
3/5 Although not the most technologically advanced, the Pixy drone is made for Snapchat enthusiasts. It works similar to Snap Spectacles and transmits photos and videos to Memories wirelessly. In terms of specs, Pixy has a 20MP sensor that shoots 12MP images and videos of 2.7k at 30 fps. (Snap Inc.)
Killer drones
4/5 However, one shortcoming is that you cannot control the drone via your phone and you cannot see the captured images or videos until they have been transmitted to your device. Snap told TechRadar, and you can export your photos and videos to platforms other than Snapchat. (Pixabay)
Killer drones
5/5 Snap also said that Pixy has a second camera and a sensor on the bottom that detects your hand for landing. It uses the camera on the front to take photos and video, but also to identify your face and body so it can track them for the photos and videos. (Snap Inc.)
Killer drones
icon View all Images
In Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, killer drones have cemented their reputation as a potent, cost-effective weapon. (Representational image) (Pixabay)

They are precise, small in size, able to effectively penetrate air defenses when fired in groups and above all, they're cheap.

In Russia's invasion of Ukraine, killer drones have cemented their reputation as a potent, cost-effective weapon that can seek out and destroy targets while simultaneously spreading the kind of terror that can fray the resolve of soldiers and civilians alike.

You may be interested in

MobilesTablets Laptops
7% OFF
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • Black Titanium
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
23% OFF
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G
  • Green
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
Google Pixel 8 Pro
  • Obsidian
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage
Apple iPhone 15 Plus
  • Black
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage

They're also quickly surpassing missiles as the remote weapon of choice. Known as “the poor man's cruise missile,” the flying death machines can flood any combat theater much more cheaply.

Also read
Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here.

Russia's unleashing of successive waves of the Iranian-made Shahed drones over Ukraine has multiple goals — taking out key targets, crushing morale, and ultimately draining the enemy's war chest and weapons as they try to take them out.

HOW DO WARTIME DRONES WORK?

The Shahed drones that Russia has rebranded as Geran-2 are what are known as loitering munitions, which are also in Ukraine's arsenal.

Packed with explosives, they are preprogrammed with a target's GPS coordinates. They can then loiter overhead and nosedive in for the kill. That's reminiscent of Japan's World War II-era kamikaze pilots who would fly their explosive-laden aircraft into U.S. warships and aircraft carriers during the war in the Pacific.

According to the Ukrainian online publication Defense Express, which cites Iranian data, the delta-wing Shahed is 3.5 meters (11½ feet) long, 2.5 meters (8 feet, 3 inches) wide and weighs approximately 200 kilograms (440 pounds). It's powered by a 50-horsepower engine with a top speed of 185 kph (114 mph).

The drone has previously been used in Yemen and in a deadly oil tanker attack last year, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

And while its range is about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), drone expert Samuel Bendett with the CNA think tank, said the Shahed is being used in Ukraine at much shorter ranges. That's because its GPS guidance system — which is vulnerable to jamming — isn't very robust.

Shaheds are known to have been controlled via radio under the Iranians. Whether Russia is capable of doing the same in the Ukrainian theater is unclear.

Because they are cheap and plentiful, Russia is able to flood Ukraine with Shaheds without risking the lives of pilots or putting sophisticated aircraft at risk.

In Monday's attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said 28 drones made up waves of successive attacks. Fired from a truck launcher in rapid succession, the drones can fly low and slow, better able to avoid radar detection.

They don't technically swarm, Bendett noted. That kind of sophisticated drone technology exists — when multiple uncrewed aerial vehicles communicate with one another. Instead, the Shahed is simply launched in bunches in order to overwhelm defenses, particularly in civilian areas. “They know that most will not make it through,” he said.

Their power to terrorize exceeds their explosive might, however.

According to Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Shahed only carries a 40-kilogram (88-pound) explosive charge, which pales in comparison to the explosive force that a conventional missile's 480-kilogram (1,050-pound) warhead can deliver at a much longer range.

“It is difficult to hit serious targets with such drones,” Bielieskov said.

SMALL PUNCH BUT LOW COST

At a mere $20,000 apiece, the Shahed is only a tiny fraction of the cost of a full-size missile. For example, Russia's Kalibr cruise missiles, which have seen widespread use in eight months of war, cost the Russian military about $1 million each.

At such a low cost, the Shahed has been used effectively to saturate targets, whether a fuel depot or infrastructure and utilities like power or water stations. Russia has used them with precision in combination with intelligence drones to attack Ukrainian artillery, said Bendett.

Despite its small size, the Shahed's explosive charge appears powerful enough to do damage. In Monday's attacks, one drone struck an operations center while another slammed into a five-story residential building, ripping a large hole in it and collapsing at least three apartments, resulting in the deaths of three people.

Bielieskov from Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies said Russia is now directing Shaheds at civilian rather than battlefield targets because Ukrainian forces have "learned how to fight them effectively,” intercepting a little more than half of them.

With no immediate end in sight, the conflict's financial burden will weigh heavier on Moscow, which isn't receiving billions in weapons transfers from Western nations like Ukraine is. As the conflict essentially becomes one of attrition — who can withstand that human, material and financial burden the longest — finding cheaper but still potent weapons will be key.

“Shahed-136 is a cheap version of a cruise missile, which Russia can't produce fast,” said Bielieskov.

Taleblu said Russia will likely continue to boost its long-range strike capabilities with Iranian drones.

“This should raise alarm bells for Europe and the world,” he said.

Russian officials haven't issued any data about the number of missiles fired during the conflict, but Ukraine's defense minister recently alleged that Russia has used most of its high-precision missile arsenal — from 1,844 on the eve of Russia's invasion to 609 by mid-October.

A WAR OF NERVES

The incessant buzzing of the propeller-driven Shahed drones — dubbed “mopeds” and “lawnmowers” by combatants — can induce terror for anyone under its flight path because no one on the ground knows exactly when or where the weapon will strike.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seized on the drones' terror element, posting on social media: “The whole night, and the whole morning, the enemy terrorizes the civilian population.”

Bielieskov conceded that Shahed drone strikes stir up fears that Ukraine's air defenses are inadequate. But he said their use — even in large numbers — can't reverse Ukraine's battlefield gains.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 19 Oct, 00:32 IST
Tags:
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS