The war in Ukraine is the hottest news on the planet. The latest is that Ukraine is asking her western allies for more weapons. Also, Ukraine has accused Russia of using homemade and Iranian loitering, aka Kamikaze drones, in the war.
CNN reports that the cities of Vinnytsia, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and the Capital, Kyiv, have been facing the brunt of a small self-destructive drone launched by the Russian forces.
The report mentions that Iran tried to sell kamikaze drones to Russia earlier this year. The Iranian efforts bore fruit in August, and Russia purchased them and started training service members on how to operate them. In addition to the Iranian drones, the Ukrainian military also claims to have shot down similar drones made by a Russian defense contractor and weapons Klashinkov.
The difference between conventional armed drones and Kamikaze is simple but significant. The traditional drones return to whoever is controlling them; however, kamikaze” or “suicide” drones don’t because they’re disposable and meant to blow up upon detonation.
On the bright side for the Ukrainians, US military officials claim Russia’s drones are using obsolete technologies and “have already experienced numerous failures.”
Sasha Baker, an official of the defense department, told reporters in late September that “the idea that [these drones] represent some technological leap ahead, frankly, we’re just not seeing borne out in the data.”
Ukraine has also accused Iranian nationals in parts of Russia of training the aggressors on handling these weapons/drones. The Associated Press reports that this indicates that Russia is running out of its own kamikaze drones.
As Department of Defense officials told reporters earlier this week, the kamikaze drone escalation has reemphasized Ukraine’s desire that Russia is running out of its own kamikaze drones.
The escalation in drone warfare has reignited Ukraine’s desire for air defense systems. The same was told to reporters earlier this week by Department of Defense officials.
It is also pertinent to mention that Russia is not the only side in the conflict that is using Kamikaze Drones. Ukraine has also been making use of technology to its advantage. But Ukraine has primarily relied on its allies for remote weapons support, including the American-made Switchblade and “phoenix ghost” suicide drones.
The excessive use of drones in the Ukraine War is a testament to the fact that we have entered the era of Drone Warfare.