Russian air bases were hit by neither Ukroboronprom nor Soviet-era drones - FT

This is reported by the Financial Times.

"The drones that attacked the Russian airfields are neither Ukroboronprom models nor modified Soviet ones, but rather a joint initiative of the government and the private sector, which is able to release new developments more often," the newspaper writes, citing the defense adviser to the Ukrainian government.

The source stressed that the UAVs used inertial navigation systems to target objects that do not require a satellite link, so they cannot be jammed, but are less accurate than GPS: "This would make them more difficult to intercept and explain how they managed to get through Russian air defense systems".

One of the Ukrainian engineers developing drones for the military is reported to have said that the drones believed to have been used in the latest attacks "could travel at speeds close to the speed of sound, and replacing the original Tu-141 camera would allow for more than 50 kg of explosives, maybe even 100 kg."

"In essence, it would be a cheap cruise missile," noted a Ukrainian engineer developing drones for the military in a comment to the FT, adding that it would take time to build such equipment from scratch and replenish supplies.

On December 5, the military airfields Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region and Engels in the Saratov region were hit. Three Russian servicemen who were at the airfield were killed. Four others were injured. Both airfields serve aircraft that launch missiles over the territory of Ukraine. According to unconfirmed data, two Tu-95MS strategic bombers were damaged in an explosion at one of the airfields, and a fuel tank exploded at another. In the evening, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation admitted that two airfields had been hit.

Ukrainian military experts believe that strikes on Russian military airfields have a very serious and ideological significance for Putin. He was slapped again as one of his nuclear triad elements was damaged.

The strikes on air bases in Russia caused a flood of criticism from pro-government bloggers.

• On December 6, the American aerospace company Maxar published satellite images of the Russian air base in Engels, which is used for airstrikes on the territory of Ukraine.