Reaching Moscow
Ukraine can reach many targets, including those located in Russia, with two types of weapons: missiles and drones.
“The UJ-22 Airborne drones produced in Ukraine today are of the aircraft type with an internal combustion engine and can return from a distance of up to 700 km or be used as a kamikaze drone at a distance of up to 1,500 km,” Roman Svitan, a flight instructor and Ukrainian reserve colonel, told Novaya-Europe. “Dozens of such drones have already flown unimpeded into Russia and even into the Moscow region. This drone can carry 20-25 kg of ammunition: several grenade launcher rounds, mortar shells, or properly packed explosives. Fuel depots, warehouses and lightly fortified targets can be attacked with such devices.”
Moreover, Svitan believes that the Ukrainian army has dozens of various models with similar tactical and technical features provided by Kyiv’s allies in the West.
Discussing the Ukrainian-made UJ-22 Airborne drones, Israeli military expert David Sharp notes that at the moment it’s not evident that Kyiv possesses a large number of such devices. Those that have been used have not always reached their targets, often falling far from any military facilities. However, even this aircraft can operate successfully and benefit Ukraine. As the Russian-Ukrainian conflict experience has shown, mass-producing modern drones is not an easy task. It’s not surprising that Russia has not managed to do this either, even though the Lancet loitering munition has become a serious threat to Ukrainian forces. Up to 200 hits by this drone on Ukrainian military hardware and equipment have been recorded.
Roman Svitan recalls the Soviet-era Tu-141 Strizh — a multipurpose tactical UAV, a few of which are still used by the Ukrainian army. Svitan refers to this drone as proper unmanned aircraft. This five-tonne drone can travel about 1,000 km at a speed of over 1,000 km/h and carry several hundred-kilogram aviation bombs FAB on board.