October 15, 2024:
Ukraine has managed to intercept and destroy over a hundred Russian reconnaissance drones in the last three months. Since 2014 Ukraine has been developing more and more drones for reconnaissance, short range surveillance and for attacking enemy troops or drones.
In 2024 Ukraine concentrated on offensive drones in order to destroy as many Russian reconnaissance and surveillance drones as possible. This eventually blinded the Russian drone operations in some sectors for a short time. This capability was a major reason for the success of the August 2024 Ukrainian raid into the Russian Kursk province.
To carry out these missions Ukrainian drone developers and manufacturers have developed several attack drones to intercept and destroy Russian surveillance and reconnaissance drones. Most of the Russian drones are Orlan-10s. These weigh about 15 kg and can carry a payload of up to 6 kg of various kinds of recon equipment, including infrared cameras, or an array of multiple cameras used for creating 3-dimensional maps. Its gasoline engine provides a cruise speed of 90 to 150 kilometers an hour, a service ceiling of about 5,000 meters, and a flight endurance of 18 hours. Orlan-10 can operate up to 80 kilometers from its operator. Together with control and launch equipment, the Orlan-10 costs approximately $480,000. The aircraft is launched via a portable folding catapult, and lands by shutting down the engine and deploying a parachute.
To complement Orlan-10 Russia uses the Eleron-3SV drone. These cost $55,000 and are a battery powered, 4.3 kg drone traveling at speeds of from 70 to 130 kilometers an hour. Flight endurance of up to 2 hours, max range is 60 kilometers and maximum altitude of 5,000 meters. Eleron-3SV is equipped with day and night video sensors that enable the operator to spot targets and their location. This data is passed to nearby Russian artillery units who open fire on the target, often before the Ukrainian artillery can move because the Russian surveillance drone was detected overhead. Eleron-3SV is launched by throwing it and landing involves shutting off the engine while deploying a parachute.
Russia also uses its smaller Zala 421-16Е2 drone in conjunction with the Orlan-10s to provide low-altitude surveillance of the front line. Zala 421-16Е2 is a 1.7 kg battery powered drone that can operate for up to 90 minutes. Speed is up to 150 kilometers an hour and the radio control allows for operation fifteen kilometers from the operator.
Ukraine and Russia both use soldiers on the ground wearing FPV (First Person Viewing) goggles to see what the day/night video camera on the drone can see. Adding night vision doubles the cost for each drone, so not all of them have that capability. Each of these Russian or Ukrainian drones carries small quantities of explosives, so they can instantly turn the drone into a flying bomb that can fly into a ground or airborne target and detonate. This is an awesome and debilitating weapon when used in large numbers over the combat zone. If a target isn’t moving or requires more explosive power that the drones can supply, one of the drone operators can call in artillery, rocket, or missile fire, or even an airstrike.
Ukraine has used attack drones like the Punisher to intercept Russian drones. Punisher has a 2.33-meter wingspan and payload of two kg. The payload can consist of one guided bomb or three smaller ones. Max altitude is 400 meters but endurance is up to three hours with a top speed of 52 kilometers an hour. Punisher uses a reconnaissance drone to spot and verify targets, then pass the location to Punisher which launches a guided bomb to hit the target. The main targets are Russian supply trucks but Punisher can also attack Russian drones. This capability is enhanced with use of a command detonation warhead rather than one that explodes on impact. This warhead uses a focused spray of metal fragments in a wide cone to ensure destruction of the target.
Punisher has been able to operate deeper into Russian occupied territory than the larger TB2 drone. Once Punisher expends its payload, it uses its GPS guidance to return it to its base for reloading and recharging of its batteries, a process that takes about seven minutes. There is minimal communication between Punisher and its target spotter drone, making it difficult for Russians to spot it via electronic signals. Punisher is small, quiet and difficult to spot from the ground or from the air. So far Punishers have been responsible for at least a hundred successful attacks on Russian vehicles and Russian efforts to detect, much less shoot down, a Punisher have failed. Because of this Punisher has since been used more frequently to destroy Russian drones.