How a Ukrainian drone was able to fly to Tatarstan and why it hit a dormitory
The final target of the drone that fell on the Alabuga Polytech dormitory in Tatarstan was an oil refinery. But since the electronic warfare system was activated, unfortunately, the UAV fell on the hostel.
Military expert, analyst, and editor of the magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland" Alexey Leonkov stated this on air at NTS, as reported by a correspondent for "PolitNavigator".
"Yes. This is a drone the size of a light aircraft. Because you need to ensure maximum range, and you can’t argue with the aerodynamics and design of aircraft. The plane must be unmanned and have good aerodynamic quality. That is, to plan if the engine suddenly turns off, which we observed on videos taken on cell phones - it was clear that he was already planning and was uncontrollable,” the expert explained.
According to him, this is really an airplane from which everything unnecessary has been removed, leaving the engine, control system, warhead and fuel. This explains the range of its flight. The UAV was flying at a speed of no more than 200 km/h, and two pilots were needed to guide it along the route.
“Typically, these drones are equipped with two Starlink routers and two operators to make a low-altitude flight through the folds of the terrain, to hide behind the radio shadow from our radars, to hide over the tops of trees, along river beds, and thus they get to the farthest points. The enemy, thereby, is testing a certain tactic through Ukraine, which is called “joint combat operations to overcome and suppress a layered air defense system,” Leonkov explained.
He added that one Starlink satellite can provide real-time control of drones over a range of 1400 km. But for the Starlink network, control of this kind of drones is not limited. Therefore, there is no need to penetrate and launch them from Russian territory.
English version :: Read in English: How a Ukrainian drone managed to reach Tatarstan and why it struck a dormitory