Ukraine's sting drone: Cost-effective defense against Russian threats
Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainians are continuously developing weapons to help effectively defend against Russian attacks. One of the latest innovations in this category is the Sting drone. According to The Telegraph, it is expected to become a more economical alternative to anti-aircraft missiles, enabling the interception of Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Ukrainians are working on a solution called Sting. As explained by The Telegraph, it is an unmanned aerial vehicle designed to combat Iranian-made Shahed drones used by the Russians in Ukraine. These drones pose a significant threat to the Ukrainian army and civilians because the Russians deploy them for mass attacks on various targets. Some of these drones hit residential buildings or critical infrastructure.
Ukrainians are developing a new weapon
According to reports from the British newspaper's service, the Ukrainian group Wild Hornets is developing the drone. Sting is to be a quadcopter drone, operated like typical FPV (First Person View) drones and equipped with a warhead and camera. It is likely to move at speeds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour and fly at a maximum altitude of about 3,050 metres.
The Military Service notes that the drone will be controlled from the ground using VR goggles, allowing the operator to see exactly where it is flying. Additionally, the entire system will feature a target-tracking capability based on artificial intelligence, enhancing the detection of enemy objects. According to a representative of Wild Hornets, quoted by the Military Service, "its average cost is dozens of times lower than that of the Shahed drone." Using the unmanned vehicle will save valuable anti-aircraft missiles.
Shahed drones in Ukraine
Shahed drones pose a significant challenge for Ukrainian air defence. They can be launched in large numbers, creating swarms that overwhelm defence systems. They are also relatively cheap and easy to produce, allowing Russia to deploy these drones en masse as loitering munitions. Additionally, the Russians have upgraded these drones, improving their speed and altitude, making them more challenging to neutralise. Shaheds are also used strategically to force Ukraine to react, engaging its resources in places where it becomes least profitable.
The Russians mainly use two models of Shahed drones—the Shahed-136 and Shahed-131. The former is a machine with a length of about 3.3 metres and a wingspan of 2.4 metres, built in a delta configuration. The drone weighs about 200 kilograms, with the warhead weighing between 30 and 50 kilograms. The device moves up to 185 kilometres per hour and has a range of about 1,000 kilometres, although some sources suggest it could be as much as 2,500 kilometres.
The Shahed-136 is a loitering munition that can form a so-called swarm. Thanks to the capabilities of a special mobile launcher, five drones can be transported and launched simultaneously, making the attacks more coordinated and harder to repel. The Shahed-131 is a smaller model, harder to detect due to its size. It can carry warheads weighing between 10 and 15 kilograms and has a range of about 900 kilometres.
