Posted on 07/21/2025 8:24:28 AM PDT by Navy Patriot
Russian drone attacks appear to be overwhelming Ukraine's besieged air defenses with their highest hit rates since the war began, it was reported Monday.
Moscow's military has used "swarm" tactics, with drones striking targets at three times the typical rate in recent months, Financial Times reported, citing official data.
Roughly 15% of Iranian-designed drones, manufactured in Russia, penetrated defenses on average between April and June. That was up from only 5% during the previous three months.
The war began in February 2022 when, in an unprovoked attack, Russia invaded Ukraine.
The increased effectiveness of the slow-moving Shaheds — drones that Russians have renamed Gerans — is due to modifications that have allowed them to fly faster and beyond the range of Ukrainian truck-mounted machine guns, Financial Times reported.
"The problem is not [that] the Ukraine air defense is getting worse. Instead, what we see is that new swarming tactics and drones are now flying in higher altitude, [which] makes them more effective," according to Yasir Atalan, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The increase in sheer size in launches saturates the defense systems which increases the hit rate."
The Ukrainian air force has used electronic warfare to jam the drones' GPS guidance systems, and anti-aircraft guns including the advanced German Oerlikon Skynex, an advanced air defense cannon.
Russia has been intensifying its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities. It now often batters Ukraine with more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate. On July 8, Russia unleashed more than 700 drones — a record.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
I read that the anti-drones cost 10 times what the drones cost. Many of the drones have no payloads, they are just decoys to use up defenses.
I think I see a problem.
There will be many ruined mugasms today when the zeepers face up to The Horror.
The article tells me that this massive drone attack killed ONE civilian.
History tells me that bombing civilian targets has very little power to bring a war to conclusion, short of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that is.
Unfortunately, the article does not tell us about the military effect of these drone strikes on Ukraine. Nor does it tell us about the counter battery effect of drone strikes on Russia.
Yes, the US Taxpayers will run out of money for Ukraine Grift and the MIC, while the USA runs out of Taxpayers.
Yes, unfortunately for you, the article was not "written" by The Associated Presstitutes or the Rooters Sewer Service.
“The article tells me that this massive drone attack killed ONE civilian.”
Russia knows all that. The goal isn’t to kill civilians, that’s just small collateral damage. The goal is forcing the waste of expensive and limited defensive weapons on protecting civilians rather than soldiers and equipment.
Yes, I guess it's best to ask aMorePerfectUnion for a Zeeper Spam Alert while I still can.
Ah, you point out the failing of modern journalists—they don’t cover Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. I wish I had a dollar for every time I screamed at a news article that buried the lede or didn’t answer a crucial question.
I think I see a problem.
At some point the defense against these drone attacks has to not only be effective at downing/stopping them as well as being economically feasible. Spending a million dollars to down thousand dollar drone isn’t going to work.
Looking at the drone ‘fireworks’ displays—how do we cope the those kinds of numbers?
Any reports on the military effect of drone strikes would be Western propaganda, plain and simple.
Images like this one of Kiev taken hours after the strikes were over, speak for themselves..
Time to destroy the factory in Tartarstan that is cranking out drones for Russia. Given the distance and isolation, this will not be easy.
Unless a laser weapon is operational and available Ukraine cannot win a drone war. Russia can and does build these things faster than Toyota builds cars.
Hmm? When flying low and slow, the 12.7mm and 23mm AA were accounting for just ~10 percent of downings?
I would have thought they accounted for more.
Now that the drones are flying higher and a little faster, the next layer of AA should be the 37mm and 57mm class of guns? What percentage of downings are they accounting for?
My guess is not much more than the 12.7mm and 23mm were.
This brings me to my question, How are the bulk of Russian drones being brought down?
Get over the idea that the Russians are playing 3D chess and are a hundred moves ahead. In their desperation over the lack of any real success on the battlefield, the Russians have turned to terror bombing, just like the WWII Blitz.
Somebody needs some cwiz.
CIWZ-—
Perhaps but something more “StarWars’
Like.
.
These Drones are plastic and Prolific.
Between August 2024 and May this year, Russia launched 15,000 Shahed or Geran drones at Ukraine. Over 9,000 were shot down and 5000 jammed or just missed. Each Shahed carries a 50 kg/110 lb warhead.
Over a seven month period, at most 1,000 got through, for a total of... 55 tons of warhead on target, apartments, hospitals, schools, shopping malls, etc. Russia stopped attacking power plants, water stations, military targets early 2024.
During the 1991 Gulf War, the USAF dropped 85,000 tons of bombs on Iraq. Between the start of Operation Swords of Iron and now, Israel has dropped 100,000 tons of bombs.
55 tons of ordnance delivered over 10 months is pathetic compared to the last 30 years of air power, and inconsequential to determining the outcome of the war.
Yes, it is diverting resources. It is not diverting enough to make up for Russian forces advancing at a snail's pace on the battlefield.
... always ready when called upon!
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