Russia has its first FPV anti-aircraft drones: warfare enters new realm

Defense Express reported the information.

Recently, a video surfaced showing Russian forces copying Ukraine's strategy, with footage of a Russian drone operator successfully downing a Ukrainian Furia drone. The Russian FPV drone used a "ramming" method, crashing into the wing of the Ukrainian drone but remaining intact for possible reuse.

It was only a matter of time before the Russian military tried to adopt Ukraine's successful FPV drone tactics, says defense Express. The challenge now is how quickly they can scale this approach, as their current efforts are sporadic rather than systematic. However, it's likely that the invading Russian forces will expand the use of anti-air FPV drones.

For months, Ukraine’s Defense Forces have effectively employed FPV drones against enemy reconnaissance aircraft. Units like the 93rd Mechanized Brigade's Signum reported shooting down nearly all Russian drones in their area, including 36 Zala, 7 Supercam, 5 Orlan drones, and even a Lancet strike drone.

These successes indicate that FPV drones could potentially replace anti-air missiles due to their lower cost. However, countering this new threat has become an urgent issue for Ukraine as well. Communication and electronic warfare expert Serhiy Beskrestnov notes that, along with developing countermeasures, Ukraine must also boost the production of both reconnaissance and anti-air FPV drones to offset any increase in Russian drone numbers.

Although Russia has yet to find an effective method against Ukraine’s anti-air FPV drones, giving Ukraine a strategic advantage for now, Moscow has started exploring countermeasures, such as drone detectors, dome cameras, and sound detectors. Nevertheless, with some FPV drones reaching speeds of up to 325 km/h, evading them remains challenging.

Russia is also considering electronic warfare systems, though this faces obstacles, such as the limited payload capacity of many drones. Meanwhile, machine vision technology presents a possible solution for FPV drones to counter EW interference.

Additionally, Russian forces are increasingly using "drone motherships" to launch FPV drones over long distances, up to 40 km. Ukraine has also adopted similar technology in response.