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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
UNIAN, photo ua.depositphotos.com, video stillRussian invaders will not limit themselves to rocket "Shaheds," whose speed today reaches about 500 km/h. Soon, possibly in half a year, cheap cruise missiles traveling at 500-750 km/h may appear, said Presidential Advisor for the Development of Defense Technology Directions Serhiy (Flash) Beskrestnov.
In particular, the expert, on air at "Radio NV," answered a question about whether Ukraine's defense industry is really getting close to finding adequate options to counter rocket "Shaheds." As "Flash" noted, this is a complicated issue, because you constantly have to think one step ahead.
"Because the Russians also understand that we will now have such rocket interceptors and we will close Kyiv. Yes, but they are now working on creating and are betting on the next iteration — these are already small, cheap cruise missiles," Beskrestnov said.
Specifically, this refers to aerial systems such as "Banderol," "Dan T," "Dan M," "Gerbera 5." "This is already a different option. These are no longer rocket 'Shaheds,' but, of course, missiles. And their speed will be around 500, 600, 700, 750 km/h," he emphasized.
Thus, such missiles will create new challenges related to active maneuvering. These missiles will be able to fly at very low altitudes.
As "Flash" clarified, according to intelligence, the Russians have contracted for such missiles in numbers comparable to rocket "Shaheds." "So there is an approximate quantity and they will bet on it. But we also need to think about what will be in five months, when rocket interceptors will no longer work, because the speed will be higher," "Flash" said.
In his view, to counter this future threat Ukraine needs to make cheap Ukrainian missiles. "And we now have five [months], literally half a year, to make and build our own cheap solid-fuel missiles that will shoot down this problem for us, like the cheap Russian cruise missiles," "Flash" stressed.
On Ukraine's ability to shoot down rocket "Shaheds"
He confirmed that interceptors to shoot down rocket "Shaheds" are being developed in Ukraine. "We have at least three, four, five different variants of such fast interceptors, but we need time to test them and develop tactics for their use," "Flash" said.
According to him, the enemy is currently betting on speed. Rocket drones have online control using MESH networks. At the same time, there are three variants of such Russian drones.
What types of rocket drones attack Ukraine
There is the variant of a conventional rocket Shahed, which is guided based on satellite navigation signals and has nothing else — just like a conventional gasoline Shahed. The second variant is a rocket Shahed that has a poor camera but has remote-control capability.
"That is, its task is to see the target and attack that target. And the third variant is the so-called 'Shahed-seeker.' This is a Shahed with a very good camera — thirty-times zoom. It consists of two parts. There is a good thermal-imaging camera. There is a camera with optical zoom of 30-times. There is also a digital zoom," the expert said.
In particular, the 'Shahed-seeker' can fly, search for a target, enlarge the image, and see a target at 6-7 kilometers and even further.
"For example, some warehouse or fuel depot. And what happens next? The operator controlling the 'Shahed' does not need to have manual control or do anything. He has, for example, some little square. He shows — lock on, lock on that target. And then the Shahed automatically moves toward that target," Flash explained.
At the same time, he asserts that the problem is that Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) does not work at all. That is, when a 'Shahed' locks onto a target and automatically attacks it, EW no longer has any effect. Everyone understands this. Optical navigation works there and such a Shahed is called a 'Shahed-seeker.' It currently exists in the rocket variant," the expert said.
As UNIAN reported, according to the military, a rocket 'Shahed' flies high, so it is easier to detect by location, but harder to 'reach'.
Meanwhile, Ihor Lutsenko, commander of drone operator units and founder of the Center for Support of Aeroreconnaissance, believes that a Russian 'drone apocalypse' could cover Ukraine as far as Uzhhorod, but for now the main danger is not the geography of strikes.
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