What are Russia’s kamikaze drones? (PICTURES+VIDEO)  

Things have changed

In recent days we have seen more and more strikes in Kyiv by kamikaze drones. But who are these drones that have changed the facts in military operations?

Russia is believed to have procured Iran’s Shahed-136 since mid-September, but Iran denies this. Russia calls them Geranium-2 and they are drones that have a warhead with explosives. Drones can fly for hours over an area before being ordered to “dive” to destroy a target. The technical term for these drones is “floating munitions”. Their wingspan is 2.5 meters and it is extremely rare to be detected by radar. Their use is much cheaper than using missiles, since each drone costs only $20,000, and they can hit targets many times more accurately.

The Ukrainians use electronic jamming devices to try to shoot them down, and the armed forces say they have shot down 60% of all drones that have attempted to fly into their airspace.

They fly low and you can send them in swarms. So they are very difficult to counter by air defense. – Justin Crump, military analyst

Unlike drones that return to their base after launching their missiles, kamikaze drones are designed to crash into the target. So far, the attacks in the city of Kiev have killed more than 25 people and injured more than 100. On Monday alone, Ukrainian forces announced that they shot down 37 drones.