Russia is ramping up its drone production and escalating the scale of its attacks using these weapons. "Their goal is to mobilize 2,000 UAVs simultaneously for each attack," said General Christian Freuding, head of the Ukraine aid coordination group at the German Ministry of Defense, on 19/7.
General Freuding believes using the Patriot system, with missiles costing over 4 million USD each, against Geran-2 suicide drones, priced between 35,000 and 60,000 USD apiece, is inefficient. "We must consider smarter countermeasures against Russian UAVs. The cost per engagement should be in the range of 2,300 to 4,500 USD," he said.
Russian officials have not yet commented on this information.
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The wreckage of a Russian UAV on display at an event in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 27/6. Photo: AP |
The wreckage of a Russian UAV on display at an event in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 27/6. Photo: AP
General Freuding's comments come as Russia expands its coordinated attacks on Ukraine. In a record-breaking attack on 9/7, Russia deployed 728 Geran-2 suicide drones and decoy aircraft.
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service estimated in June that Russia plans to manufacture two million first-person view (FPV) drones, 30,000 long-range UAVs, and decoy aircraft this year. This represents a significant expansion of Russia’s drone warfare program.
Airwars, a UK-based conflict monitoring group, reported that Russia launched 2,000 Geran-2 drones into Ukraine between 9/2022 and 8/2023. The number of Geran UAVs used by Russia has surged this year, with 5,337 drones involved in attacks on Ukraine in June alone.
The Geran-2 is a Russian-made drone based on the Iranian Shahed-136 design. The initial Geran-2 variant weighs around 200 kg, carries a 50 kg warhead, and has a range of 2,500 km. It's the primary suicide drone used by the Russian military for long-range strikes against Ukraine, but it can also target tactical objectives near the front lines.
Russia has significantly upgraded the Geran-2 to increase its effectiveness, including equipping it with a new 90 kg warhead and combining electro-optical sensors with AI technology for target recognition and guidance for subsequent strikes. This also enhances its anti-jamming capabilities to counter Ukrainian electronic warfare measures.
Ukrainian sources and German media report that Russian long-range suicide drones have recently been operating at high altitudes, several kilometers from major cities and strategic targets, to "swarm and launch coordinated attacks in large numbers."
Nguyen Tien (N-TV, AFP, AP)
