Large and slow-flying Ukrainian drones like the UJ-22 Airborne and the A-22 Foxbat have had good success in penetrating Russia’s much-vaunted layered air defense. The drones have repeatedly struck heavily defended Russian air bases and energy storage and processing installations.
The Ukrjet UJ-22 Airborne is a single-engine drone that can either carry an internal warhead or several air-dropped bombs weighing up to 20 kg. It has a traditional light aircraft layout with straight high wings and a tractor propeller, simple straight wings, and fixed undercarriage.
The 3.7-meter-long drone, with a 4.2-meter-wide wing span, is one of the largest kamikaze drones known to be in service. It has a range of 800 km. The A22 Foxbat is a similar large drone.
Recent Damaging Ukrainian Drone Attacks
Since the start of the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk on August 6, Ukrainian drones have targeted air bases at Baltimor and Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh region and Savasleyka in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
On the night of August 22, Ukrainian drones attacked the Marinovo military airfield, where Su-24MR tactical aircraft are also based. Footage posted on social media accounts shows hits on the airfield territory and resulting fires. The attack also affected the Volgograd airport, disrupting flight operations temporarily.
Russian firefighters struggled for five days to put out a fire at an oil depot in the town of Proletarsk caused by a Ukrainian drone attack on August 18.
Realtime ISR Support from US/NATO ISR assets
Another important reason for the better-than-expected penetration of Ukrainian drones is the real-time ISR support provided by airborne US/NATO ISR assets.
US/NATO aircraft, such as the manned RC-135 and the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, monitor the operation of Russian radars 24×7 from outside Russia’s borders. They can detect gaps in radar coverage, including gaps arising from scheduled maintenance and temporary breakdowns.
The situational awareness provided by the US/NATO ISR assets not only facilitates safe routing when planning the mission but also allows drone pilots to alter their tracks based on real-time data.
Russian Countermeasures
Russia is developing measures to plug the gaps in its air defense coverage. One recently announced measure is the introduction of a counter-drone variant of the Yak-52M trainer aircraft.
The counter-drone variant, Yak-52B2, will be fitted with radar and new instrumentation, including a multifunctional display in the rear cockpit. In addition to modernized navigation and flight equipment, it will feature an electronic warfare system for suppressing communication channels.
