Army Recognition and UAS Vision report that Russia’s defence ministry Southern Military District (YuVO) is developing new counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) tactics, according to the MoD. Special mobile C-UAV teams have already been integrated into all formations of the district.
“The YuVO C-UAV units are now being trained to protect airfields against drone swarms, using electronic warfare (EW) systems and other assets. The C-UAV specialists detect reconnaissance UAVs and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) flying at various altitudes and send target data to air defense systems and EW complexes. The R-934BMV and R-330Zh Zhitel (Dweller) EW systems intercept drones and suppress onboard devices that send multimedia information,” say the press reports.
“Once an UAV is detected, EW systems suppress it, neutralizing all optoelectronic subsystems. It is a less expensive method compared with hard-kill elimination,” a military source from YuVO told TASS.
“The Pantsir-S (NATO designation: SA-22 Greyhound) self-propelled anti-air gun-missile (SPAAGM) systems and the Tor-M2 (NATO designation: SA-15 Gauntlet) short-range air defense (SHORAD) systems practice to engage drones at a distance of up to 10 km, using surface-to-air missiles (SAMs),” the MoD said. The YuVO C-UAV teams are also being trained to engage UAVs, using small arms. “During a recent exercise, a counter-drone unit utilized its organic small arms to engage a UAV flying at an altitude of 150 m. The vehicle was shot down,” the military source said.
“The Russian military employed new C-UAV tactics during the ‘Vostok 2018’ (East 2018) exercise. In particular, the soldiers used the REX-1 electronic rifles and some EW systems.
It should be mentioned that the armed forces are shoring up their hard-kill C-UAV capabilities. The troops operate the Pantsir-S SPAAGM system that is believed to be the most cost-effective hard-kill anti-drone weapon.”
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(Image: Ministry of Defence, Russia)
