Russia using new tactic: launching reconnaissance drones without GPS signal – Ukraine's Air Force

Russian forces have adopted a new tactic – deploying reconnaissance drones with their navigation switched off.

Source: Colonel Yurii Ihnat, representative of Ukraine's Air Force, on Radio Liberty

Quote: "The enemy is using a new tactic: they’re launching UAVs without navigation, with no GPS signal. The signal is switched on directly over the target that the enemy plans to reconnoitre and strike with an Iskander [missile]. So we also have to react to this situation. If anyone thinks nothing is being done, we have already had many conversations [about this], and the task of somehow solving this problem has been set by the senior leadership."

Details: The colonel emphasised that Ukraine's defence forces must implement effective measures to counter Russian reconnaissance drones.

Ihnat added that up to 50 UAVs fly across the war zone every day, and certain types of drones can also infiltrate Ukraine's rear.

Quote: "I would like to remind you that Shaheds [loitering munitions – ed.] can fly as far as [Ukraine's] western borders. So this isn’t the first time that an Orlan [reconnaissance UAV] has flown into the rear, into Poltava Oblast. This is a problem that needs to be addressed. Innovative solutions are being sought, and FPV (First-Person View) drones and anti-aircraft UAVs, as they are called, are being used to engage enemy reconnaissance drones, and they are working quite effectively. I think the whole of the defence forces should also pay attention to this and introduce such equipment, which is relatively cheap compared to expending missiles. Well, you [still] need missiles, and missiles today act as a deterrent.

As we speak, dozens of UAVs – 30 or 40 – are flying across the war zone... They are conducting aerial reconnaissance around the clock in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, where active hostilities are taking place. Sometimes drones fly deep into our territory. Yes, there are various means of counteraction: we have mobile fire teams, and fighter aircraft may be used. We have had a positive experience with Yak-52s [Soviet propeller aircraft] in the South, and there are also electronic warfare systems [at our disposal]."

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