XPost: soc.history.war.misc, sci.military.naval

--(Meanwhile, seems like the Ukraine Spring Offensive,
is going real slow!) --

from https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-using-exploding-beaver-drone-target-russia-one-big-weakness-2023-8

Ukraine is using a new exploding drone to target Russia, say experts.
But the 'Beaver' may have one major weakness.
Tom Porter Aug 1, 2023, 5:57 AM PDT
Drone attack Moscow

A general view of a damaged office block of the Moscow International
Business Center after Ukrainian drones attacks in Moscow, Russia on July
30, 2023. Boris Alekseev/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Ukraine is using new Beaver drones to attack targets within Russia's
borders.
The drones are being launched from Ukraine, reports indicate.
Ukraine has in recent days attacked Moscow, with drones crashing into a high-rise building.
Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall
Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily.

Ukraine is using a new, long-range drone, known as the "Beaver", to
bring the war deep into Russia's borders, according to experts.

Open-source intelligence experts have posted footage of recent drone
attacks in Moscow, and said the aircraft appeared to be Ukrainian Beaver drones.

The drones have an unusual shape, with an engine at the back end and a
second pair of smaller wings near the front, according to footage and
images posted online by Ukrainian outlet Euromaidan Press.

This allows them to make abrupt changes in flight altitude and evade air defenses.

They carry an explosive payload, and have a range of up to 620 miles,
meaning attacks on Russia can be launched from within Ukraine's borders.

However, they appear to have at least one major weakness.

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow with the London-based Royal
United Services Institute think tank, told Newsweek that the drones
resemble the "Shahed" drones used by Russia to attack civilian targets
in Ukraine.

But he added that it is unclear whether Beaver drones are as adept at
evading navigation-jamming technology as Shahed drones, and might be
vulnerable to the electronic defense systems set up in the Russian capital.

He pointed to reports saying that two drones targeting Moscow Sunday had
hit an office high rise, which is not a target that's part of Ukrainian military doctrine.

He said this indicated they had likely been diverted from their intended targets by Russian defenses.

The "Beaver" drone is being built with the help of influencer Ihor
Lachenkov, who has recently shed light on Ukraine's secretive drone
warfare program.

In an interview with The New York Times published Monday, Lachenkov
confirmed he's worked alongside the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation
Center.

He added that he'd been asked to fundraise for the production of a
remote "kamikaze drone" that can "fly very far."

He said that he and his followers had been able to raise around half a
million dollars for the project.

Ukraine appears to have stepped up its drone attacks against Moscow in
recent months. Since May, Ukraine is believed to have been behind
attacks on sites including the Kremlin, military bases, and a wealthy
Moscow suburb near Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence.

On Tuesday a drone crashed into a skyscraper in central Moscow for the
second time in two days. Russian authorities accused Kyiv of staging the attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said that Ukraine was attacking sites in Russia, saying that "gradually, the war is returning
to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases,
and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process."

Read next


MILITARY & DEFENSE
Photos capture the crude cages Russian and Ukrainian crews are welding
on their tanks and armor as a last-ditch defense

News UK
Military equipment

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)