According to an article published by Ukraine media company Defense Express, soldiers from Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade attack drone company have published a video showing a UAV crashing into a Russian Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missile system.
“The Russian equipment was damaged as a result. From the last seconds of the drone’s live feed, we can see the operator was trying to hit the radar which was in its folded state. If put out of order, Tor-M1 becomes unable to operate, and the repairs would be expensive,” says the article. “Judging by the circumstances, the Tor-M1 had just arrived at the new position or was ready to leave it and move somewhere else. Surely, the moment for the attack was not perfect since the radar was hidden in the hull. But in the bigger picture, the case itself is quite illustrative in terms of FPV drone efficiency. First of all, it is a roughly USD500 drone that can effectively put valuable equipment worth millions of dollars out of service in a single accurate strike. Secondly, Tor-M1 is deemed in Russia as the best tool for countering UAV threats.
“The Tor system family was initially designed to cover vanguard land force echelons from attack aircraft and rotorcraft, intercept cruise and anti-radar missiles back in the USSR times when it was designed. The modern reality is the Tor system which is conceptually supposed to be deployed close to the frontline has itself become a target for suicide drones – the most cost-efficient, long-range, and simple-to-use weapon on the tactical level.
“The bottom line is, in a situation that earlier required higher-level interference, such as deployment of artillery units or high-precision missiles, to take down a valuable target, an FPV drone enables soldiers on the ground to deal with the problem by own means. That is a sign of explosive drones becoming a real game-changer,” says Defense Express.
(Image: Tor-M1 anti-aircraft system)
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