File image.
Russian drones have begun firing on Ukrainian interceptors when approached, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian military communications expert, revealed in a post on his Telegram channel on September 1.
Beskrestnov shared video footage showing a Russian “Supercam” reconnaissance drone shooting back at a Ukrainian interceptor attempting to take it down. It is unclear from the footage, however, if the drone was deploying some sort of countermeasures, or actually firing some sort of cartridges meant to take the interceptor down.
The video followed an earlier post the same day in which Beskrestnov shared video footage of another Russian reconnaissance drone releasing nets.
The Russian drones were likely able to detect the approaching Ukrainian interceptors using a back-facing camera, possibly powered by artificial intelligence.
Such detection systems have been documented on several types of Russian drones in the past, although before, the early warning would trigger a maneuver or activate an electronic warfare system. This is the first time the drones have been seen deploying active countermeasures.
Ukraine has been increasingly relying on first-person-view interceptor drones to shoot down Russian drones, especially amid a shortage of anti-aircraft missiles.
The video shared by Beskrestnov likely shows Russian experimental active protection systems for drones. If successful, the mass deployment of these systems is to be expected soon, however, not just on reconnaissance drones, but also on one-way attack drones.
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