Victory's Arsenal: The Drone War
One of the defining features of the Russian-Ukrainian war is the extensive use of unmanned robotic systems by both sides. These systems have significantly impacted the tactical capabilities of traditional weapons, such as armored vehicles. Today, with a simple FPV drone costing up to $1000, machinery worth millions can be destroyed. More potent UAVs cause considerable losses to both military and civilian infrastructure far beyond the immediate combat zone. One serious challenge faced by Ukrainians during the war was the Iranian drone "Shahed-136." While Ukrainian Air Forces, with the assistance of allies, manage this threat relatively well now, initially, particularly amidst combined missile attacks, it posed a significant challenge.
Leaked Western intelligence sources revealed agreements between Russia and Iran regarding the acquisition of this weaponry. After the first mass attack on October 11th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing Ukrainian intelligence, stated that Russia procured 2400 "Shahed-136" drones from Iran. The first mentions of Russia's use of Iranian drones initially appeared in late September 2022, subsequently employed for combined attacks across Ukraine. In the first year alone, over 2,000 of these barraging munitions were launched over Ukraine, targeting energy, port, and industrial infrastructure.
Acknowledging this relatively inexpensive UAV (estimated by various experts between $30,000 to $50,000) with a claimed range of 1000 km and a warhead of 40-50 kg proved to be a quite effective weapon. However, it has its vulnerabilities—audibility and relatively low speed, allowing it to be shot down with certain skills, even by small arms. The Ukrainian Defense Forces' effective countermeasures against this weapon include creating tiered air defense and mobile fire groups equipped with heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons, including those provided by allies. Using these comparatively inexpensive munitions allows Ukrainians to preserve valuable ammunition for more powerful air defense systems, primarily designed to counter likely missile attacks.
Gepard
A notably effective response against the "Shahed-136" was the German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Gepard. By the end of 2022, Ukraine had approximately 30 such units provided by the German government, proving highly successful in repelling Russian attacks last winter. There were instances where Gepard crews managed to intercept guided missiles. Germany's attempts to procure ammunition for Ukraine from neutral Switzerland and Brazil were unsuccessful. Consequently, the German government had to re-establish their production within the country. Presently, ammunition is being manufactured on a reactivated line in Lower Saxony and supplied to Ukraine under a contract with Rheinmetall. The first deliveries from this plant arrived in Ukraine in September. In total, within the framework of this contract, Ukraine will acquire 300,000 shells, including high-explosive fragmentation and armor-piercing ammunition.
Photo: German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Gepard. Source: Infographic The Gaze/by Leonid Lukashenko.
Gepard (Ger. Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer) - a self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery unit produced by Krauss-Maffei. Designed to protect armored columns on the move and stationary objects from attacks by helicopters and aircraft at low and medium altitudes, day and night, in all weather conditions, and amidst intense enemy electronic warfare. The decision to transfer Gepard was made by the FRG government in April 2022, and by July last year, the first units were on active duty in air defense units.
The unit has twin 35mm Oerlikon KDA cannons with a firing rate of 550 rounds/minute. The armament includes 640 high-explosive fragmentation shells for air targets and 40 sub-caliber shells for ground targets. Gepard can engage targets flying at altitudes up to 4 kilometers at speeds of 350-400 m/s. It is also capable of targeting lightly armored ground targets using APDS sub-caliber ammunition.
Equipped with two radars—a surveillance-search MPDR-12 and a target-tracking radar 'Albis'—the Gepard identifies and tracks aerial targets within a range of up to 15 km. Gepard boasts a high-performance Fire Control System (FCS), capable of adjusting for the vehicle's tilt on uneven terrain. It takes into account atmospheric pressure, temperature, air humidity, wind speed, and direction. The FCS has six primary modes of application, depending on the target type and the presence of radio interference. It autonomously calculates the target's trajectory and the optimal number of projectiles required for impact.
Currently, Ukrainians have 49 units at their disposal, but their quantity is set to increase, including through the targeted purchase of 60 Gepard units from Jordan, facilitated by the United States.
Terrahawk Paladin and Other Drone Killers
However, Gepard isn't the sole solution against Russian UAVs. Ukrainian mobile fire groups are utilizing diverse anti-aircraft weaponry, acquired or supplied by partners. This includes Czech Viktor systems procured by volunteers, Polish Hibneryt (a modification of the Soviet ZU-23-2), Soviet-era "Shilka" (also supplied by Poland), Slovak Zastava M55, M75s, Finnish ItK 61, Swedish Bofors 40L70 cannons (supplied by Lithuania and the Netherlands), among others.
Moreover, Ukraine has received or is soon to receive more modern anti-drone weaponry promised by allies. For instance, they are already using the first battery of Oerlikon Skynex - a cutting-edge Rheinmetall development. Its programmable 35mm ammunition effectively destroys targets at very close range. Additionally, the military has observed the short-range missile system Vampire from the US and Germany. Soon to arrive are the promised Norwegian government's CORTEX Typhon, Australian anti-drone combat modules SLINGER, US-supplied gun-trucks with 30mm automatic cannons M230 similar to Skynex, among others.
Notably, among these promised assets is the British government's MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin anti-drone system. It was first introduced in September 2022 and is considered one of the prospective solutions in countering UAVs, an apparatus President Volodymyr Zelensky specifically requested to be supplied to Ukraine.
"The President of Ukraine stated that air defense is Ukraine's most critical need, and the Terrahawk Paladin will help provide what is necessary for Ukraine to protect its citizens from Putin's indiscriminate missile campaign against civilian targets," as reported by the UK government.
Photo: Terrahawk Paladin anti-drone system. Source: Infographic The Gaze/by Leonid Lukashenko.
MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin - an anti-drone modular mobile system - is a British MSI Defence Systems production. It's designed for effective mobile defense of military and critical infrastructure against a wide range of UAV threats.
The system takes the form of a mobile platform transportable on a truck, complying with NATO's Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System standard. Its main armament is the 30mm automatic cannon Mk44 Bushmaster II, equipped with a dual-feed system, enabling the use of two types of ammunition, including programmable detonation. Terrahawk can destroy targets up to 2 km away.
It's equipped with active phased array radar, providing 360-degree target observation. The system is remotely operated via external control panels. The system includes the SATOS optical targeting station with daytime and thermal cameras to detect potential threats in adverse conditions or at night.
The system's fire control integrates artificial intelligence for target tracking, ballistic compensation, and an enhanced target recognition algorithm developed by the Polish company Advanced Protection Systems. The system can track multiple targets simultaneously, providing real-time accurate 3D object positioning. Through machine learning, the AI classifies flying objects, distinguishing between drones and birds.
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Russia is likely to persist in its focus on deploying cost-effective tactical-level UAVs. In the summer of this year, the United States disclosed Russia's intention to build a factory jointly with Iran within the aggressor country's territory in Yelabuga (Tatarstan). The production capacity and timelines for this future facility remain unknown. However, according to Ukrainian experts' assessments, Russia is currently capable of assembling/purchasing up to 700 'Shahed-136' drones per month. This is provisionally confirmed by almost daily attacks using these UAVs by Ukraine, which have increased in frequency leading up to the fall-winter period. Only during an attack on November 25th this year, targeting the Ukrainian capital, a record number of 75 of these drones were employed. Although 71 'Shahed' drones were neutralized by air defense systems, the overall quantity used in a single attack highlights the magnitude of the problem Ukrainians are facing.
Despite both sides employing roboticized systems extensively in the war, the conflict still revolves around artillery. In the following piece, we will discuss the artillery installations that allies have provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Earlier, we covered anti-tank missile systems that aided the Armed Forces in halting Russian troops on the outskirts of Kyiv in spring 2022. We investigated the 'armored fist' of the Ukrainian army - tanks and other armored vehicles provided by Western partners, as well as light and heavy air defense systems defending Ukrainian cities.