Ukrainians shot down a Shahed armed with an air-to-air missile using the Sting interceptor drone
The maker of the Sting interceptor drones announced Monday that the unmanned vehicles were able to shoot down a Russian drone armed with an air-to-air missile, an unusual setup that signals a new battlefield tactic, Business Insider reports.
PHOTO WILD HORNETS
Representatives of Wild Hornets, a defense technology firm that produces drones for the Ukrainian military, revealed that the Darknode Battalion of the 412th Nemesis Brigade (Kiev) used its “Sting” interceptor drone to shoot down a Shahed drone carrying a Soviet-era air-to-air missile.
Alex Roslin, the Wild Hornets' external coordinator, told Business Insider that the recent combat engagement marks a first: No Sting interceptor drone has ever shot down such a Shahed drone.
Russian Shahed attack drones are typically armed only with high-explosive warheads, being designed to head toward a target before detonating on impact; or these attack drones have not been widely observed carrying external munitions.
The Wild Hornets said in a statement that the air-to-air missiles on the Shahed drones are intended to counter Ukrainian helicopters, one of the tools Kiev has depended on to intercept these drones, which Russia also manufactures locally.
Video footage of the confrontation, captured from the perspective of the Sting interceptor drone, appears to show a Geran-2 with propellers – the Russian version of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drone.
The Wild Hornets identified the weapon as the R-60, a short-range 10-kilometer guided missile developed by the Soviet Union for fighter jets. It entered service in the early 1970s and has seen extensive combat use, having been used in various conflicts in the Middle East.
Sergei Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian military expert, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that it was the first time an R-60 missile had been detected on a Shahed drone, adding that the combination “is designed to destroy helicopters and tactical aircraft that hunt Shaheds.”
It has shared photos it claims show the wreckage of a downed Shahed drone, as well as the missile it was armed with. Business Insider states that it could not independently verify the authenticity of the images.
A new air defense tactic
Ukraine has increasingly relied on aircraft, including fighter jets and helicopters, to shoot down Russian drones. Adding missiles to drones could be a way for Moscow to try to suppress these air defenses. However, these supplements could reduce the effectiveness by limiting the total load capacity.
This is not the first time in war that drones have been armed with missiles. Ukrainian naval drones equipped with surface-to-air missiles have, for example, shot down Russian aircraft over the Black Sea. The adaptation came in response to the increase in Russian air patrols.
But the Shahed missile marks a new development for Russia, which is trying to gain an advantage over Ukraine in what officials describe as a cat-and-mouse game between the two sides focused on defense technology.
Lt. Col. Yuri Mironenko, the deputy defense minister for innovation, told Business Insider last month that Russia has already tried to attack Ukrainian aircraft and helicopters in the air with Shahed missiles.
A former commander of a drone unit, he said Russia was testing new deep-sea attack weapons, including modified Shahed missiles. He did not mention the new air-to-air missile upgrade.
Faced with a growing threat from Russian drones, Ukraine has turned in recent months to interceptor drones such as Wild Hornets' Sting as low-cost air defense solutions.
A Sting interceptor drone costs about $2,500. Wild Hornets recently explained that Ukrainian forces can use the interceptor drones to shoot down more than 100 Shahed unmanned vehicles – estimated at between $20,000 and $70,000 – in a single night.
On Sunday, the company announced that Sting interceptor drones had shot down new Geran-3 drones – Russia's jet-powered version of the Shahed – for the first time during an attack the previous night.
