Ukrainian long-range drones, #ukrainewar #drone #russiaukrainewar #military, MASA Military

Before the war, Ukraine had no weapons capable of striking targets in Russia. The only ballistic missile was the Soviet-era OTR-21 Tochka, which had a range of only 75 miles and was easily intercepted. Even when Western countries have provided some cruise missiles, such as the Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG, Ukraine was not to use them to attack targets in Russia.

So what did Ukraine use to attack targets in Russia? The answer is drones.

After the outbreak of the war, the Ukrainians quickly developed their own long-range drones, many from private companies.

The First is a modified Soviet Tu-141 reconnaissance drone, now used as a suicide attack aircraft. The second is a multi-purpose drone UJ-22, which has a range of 497 miles and can drop RPG-7 rockets or 82mm mortar shells. The third is a suicide drone called "Beaver", which is said to have a range of up to 620 miles It was recently used to attack on buildings in downtown Moscow.

Although Ukraine has UAVs that can threaten Moscow and other key areas of Russia, these UAVs are mainly suicidal and multi-purpose UAVs with relatively obsolete technology, and they also lack terminal precision guidance capabilities, or remote control by satellite.

In addition, Ukraine also uses cardboard drones provided by Australia, which were smuggled into Russia and assembled for flight. The cardboard drone, called the Precision Payload Delivery System (or PPDS), consists of thick waxed cardboard and heavy rubber bands securing the wings, and can be assembled on site. PPDS is controlled by a military-grade guidance system, the empty weight of the drone is only 5.3 lbs, and the load can reach 6.6 lbs. It uses an electric motor to drive the propeller, and the onboard lithium battery is enough to fly 75 miles.

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