Russia imported Iranian Shahed 136 drones during the early months of the war against Ukraine in 2022. Moscow attempted to get an upper hand in the drone war against Ukraine, using new inexpensive technology to attack Ukrainian cities. But Russia is now concerned about the Ukrainian drone threat.
Russian airports are now being equipped with more counter-drone systems, Russian state media reported Tuesday.
Ukraine has used drones against Russia, including for long-range attacks, and on the front lines. The increase in the use of drones, from small quadcopters to larger UAVs, is part of the way the Ukrainian war is showcasing how the future of war will look. Ukraine and Russia, however, don’t have access to the most expensive drone systems. Russia has always had a paucity of drones, and Ukraine has had to improvise.
Moscow is worried
Nevertheless, Moscow is worried, as the Russian state media report indicates. According to a Russian official, Russian News Agency TASS reported, “such a measure is considered as part of the federal project for development of infrastructure, security, and development of a specialized certification system for unmanned aerial systems... More than 30 Russian airports are planned to be outfitted with drone detection and countermeasure aids, department head of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) Sergey Martynenko said at a press conference.”
“It is planned within the framework of this task [air-transport infrastructure support] to outfit 31 airports with technical aids of detection and countermeasures against unmanned aerial vehicles and provide infrastructure information security systems,” Martynenko was quoted as saying.
Russia’s investment in counter-drone systems is a setback for Moscow and an admission that although Ukraine has found it difficult to make gains in offensives this year, Russia is still forced to contend with new Ukrainian threats. Kyiv has innovated in the use of unmanned vessels in the Black Sea and various types of drones at the front.