Russia has started using new cheap drones as a decoy for Ukrainian air defenses to learn the location of air defenses.
This was reported by a Ukrainian intelligence officer to Reuters.
The two new types of drones that Russia has used in five attacks on Ukraine over the past two to three weeks, including Thursday night, are made of materials such as Styrofoam and plywood.
Drones of the first type have a camera and a Ukrainian SIM card to send images to the Russian military.
"They determine where our mobile fire groups and air defense systems are located that can destroy them. They are trying to get a picture of the location of all our air defense systems," said Andriy Chernyak, a representative of Ukrainian military intelligence.
The new Russian drones with cameras do not carry explosives, but closely resemble the Shahed attack drones and fly with them in groups, Chernyak noted.
Cherniak added that the second new type of drone also does not carry explosives or only carries a small charge. The Russians use such drones as bait for Ukrainian air defense.
In order for the Russian military to receive data about the location of the air defense system, it must shoot down this drone. And since such drones are almost indistinguishable from the Shahed from the ground, they will be shot down.
According to Chernyak, the new drones will probably cost $10,000 each, despite the large range. It is ten times cheaper than Shahed strike drones. In addition, as Chernyak notes, these new drones can also track the location of air defense systems from a height of a thousand meters — where machine guns and anti-drone rifles cannot reach them.