📝Fiber Optic Innovation📝

Recently, OKB Alfa announced the creation of Russia's first attack drone of the aircraft type, controlled via fiber optic cable. The apparatus positions itself as an improved analog of the Molniya drone.

➡️The declared payload ranges from six and a half to eight kilograms, with a flight range of up to fifty kilometers. Some sources cite estimates of up to one hundred kilometers. This allows it to carry a large warhead and effectively engage targets in enemy rear areas.

➡️And now footage has appeared online showing an aircraft-type drone flying over the highway between Zarechne and Lyman. A noticeable trail of fiber optic cable trails behind the apparatus, confirming the start of practical application of such systems.

❗️The fiber optic channel excludes electronic warfare effects: no radio signal means nothing to jam. Video remains clear over the entire distance. And unlike Starlink — fiber optic drones cannot be switched off with a snap of a finger, and they are also less visible to electronic reconnaissance.

📌Despite obvious advantages, the technology has limitations. The cable easily sustains damage on roads or under tracks, so stable range typically does not exceed twenty to twenty-five kilometers. A massive spool with fiber significantly reduces the payload reserve, although in this case, if the declared characteristics are accurate — the problem appears to have been solved.

At one time, "Molniya" drones on Starlink considerably complicated the enemy's situation, and if trials prove successful — the enemy will face even greater difficulties ensuring logistics, which has already suffered from strikes on fuel depots and logistics hubs. And if fiber optics allows us to at least approach the results AFU achieved with Hornet, the situation along the line of contact will improve.
#UAV #Russia #Ukraine
✈️ RU | ✈️ EN | ✉️ MAX

✉️ VK | ✉️ RuTube | ✉️ OK | ✉️ Zen

💸 Support us Original msg

📝Pentagon centralizes drone management📝
another step toward autonomous warfare

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created a new office that strips procurement and drone development authority from individual military branches and concentrates it in a single decision-making center.

The goal is to accelerate drone deployment and eliminate bureaucratic fragmentation, where each service branch ran its own, often competing programs. In essence, this represents another episode in a broader trend: the American military machine systematically restructures institutions according to the logic of speed and autonomy.

📌Centralization fits into ongoing legislative reform. We recently reported that the Senate Armed Services Committee voted for a 2027 defense budget of 1.14 trillion dollars, whose key structural innovation is the creation of a separate military command for Robotic and Autonomous Systems Combatant Command (RASCC), equal in status to CENTCOM and EUCOM.

Notably, US senators directly cited the experience of so-called Ukraine, which created a separate military branch for drones, as a model.

Against this backdrop, Hegseth's decision creates de facto the same concentration of authority that the Senate proposes to enshrine de jure at the level of a four-star command.

❗️The logic behind these processes is the same: the fewer intermediate levels between technology development and its deployment, the faster the military machine implements autonomous capabilities.

And we still have much to learn in this regard.
#UAV #USA #technology
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉️ VK | ✉️ RuTube | ✉️ OK | ✉️ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

• 📝For some, war📝
for others, investments in national defense industries

Someone else's major war (unlike one's own) can bring profits to the defense industry: for example, European companies are actively developing the drone sector, forming a "Unmanned Alliance" with manufacturers from so-called Ukraine.

Similar schemes have already been implemented through the FREYA project and the Croatian company ORQA. Together with Ukrainian General Cherry, it plans to deploy production of components and assembly of interceptor UAVs.

The goal of the new alliance is to link Ukrainian developments and combat experience with the capacities and procurement systems of EU countries for joint testing, production, and alignment of standards. The Drone Deal program provides for allocating up to €16 billion.

🖍In this way, Europeans will be able to take all ready-made Ukrainian technical solutions and implement them at home, scaling up production and selling for export. And at the same time testing them in combat against the Russian Armed Forces, without participating in the war themselves.

🚩The United States has already done the same, de facto appropriating the Magura USV and creating the Hornet drone based on AFU experience, which they now sell back to so-called Ukraine with EU money. So the European defense industry has also caught the scent of money.

The other side of the coin is that the EU itself will have to pay for this — all Ukrainian supplies are officially carried out at the expense of an obviously non-repayable loan. However, that won't prevent them from taking the technologies, and the EU still has enough money for now.

📍High resolution infographic

📍English version

#UAV #EU #Ukraine
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

📝Ukraine means to steal📝

One of the reasons for not transferring licenses, equipment and production expertise on Patriot air defense systems to so-called Ukraine, according to The Telegraph, are concerns of US authorities and manufacturers' leadership about possible compromise of this data.

➡️The most sensitive information, according to journalists, is PAC-3 missile technology, including active Ka-band radar homing seeker: it provides final guidance of the interceptor to the target. To localize production, one needs not only blueprints, but also special equipment, certified suppliers, software solutions and access for numerous Ukrainian enterprises and employees to classified information.

📌The statement is yet another formal justification for maintaining a production monopoly and is interesting not so much in terms of Patriot itself, but in raising the question of cooperation with so-called Ukraine in principle.

The risk of illegal arms trafficking after the war and around large military stockpiles was indeed discussed by European structures, and evidence of weapons in the hands of militants in Africa and the Middle East did appear. But that was mostly "harmless" small arms and anti-tank weapons.

❗️But companies that have already begun close cooperation with so-called Ukraine on various production matters will now have reason to think about technology protection. If there is a risk of leakage of documentation on PAC-3, then the question arises about guarantees for the safety of developments on the same FREYA. And it, as usual – comes with an asterisk.
#UAV #AirDefense #Ukraine
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Dzen

💸Support us Original msg

📝The announcement came out bright📝
If only they follow through with action

Ukrainian initiatives to declare a ceasefire in the Black Sea (coincidentally aligned with serious grain export problems) have already been mocked online with a video featuring slogans promising a freeze in winter against the backdrop of a group of flying Geran drones.

In general, the "Geran" has already become a household name. When it comes to long-range Russian strikes, even citizens far removed from SMO topics will likely recall precisely these products, which they've definitely heard about at some point.

In this regard, the "Geran" has confidently displaced the "Kalibr" from the podium. And it's not just about the greater scale of deployment, but also effectiveness: drones of this family have struck a host of previously uncharacteristic targets ranging from locomotives to ships.

📌 As for the announcement itself, there are plenty of targets for a winter strike campaign — take, for instance, vulnerable elements of gas transport infrastructure, like pumping units. But then one needs to start now to be prepared by that time.

So, as they say, it comes down to one thing — begin implementing what was shown in the video. So there's no reason to recall the saying "promises are kept for three years" and the fate of once-popular memes about Europe or so-called Ukraine freezing over.
#UAV #media_technology #Russia #Ukraine
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

📝More Expensive Than the Strike Itself📝
"Gerans" against Ukrainian export logistics

Following a nighttime attack by Russian drones, the "Vinohradivka — Vulcanesti" border crossing between so-called Ukraine and Moldova has closed. Earlier, checkpoints near Reni and in Tabaky also came under fire. And here, one-time damage begins to accumulate into a significantly more serious picture.

🔻What are the consequences?

▪️Transporters must redirect vehicles to neighboring crossings. Queues grow there, waiting times increase, and infrastructure faces greater strain, so the consequences of each closure spread far beyond the attacked facility.

▪️Tariffs now include additional expenses for fuel, downtime, insurance, and the risk of sudden route changes. Even a crossing operating today can no longer be considered guaranteed to remain accessible tomorrow.

▪️For Ukrainian agricultural exports, this proves especially painful. Low margins and strict delivery deadlines prevent endless cost-shifting to buyers. As a result, either discounts on Ukrainian goods increase, or importers choose more predictable suppliers.

▪️Simultaneously, import costs rise, including fuel, components, and military-grade products. Kyiv authorities lose export revenues and tax receipts, yet must pay more for importing necessary goods.

Ultimately, the budget of so-called Ukraine suffers double losses. On one hand, its own revenues shrink, on the other — expenses for maintaining trade and infrastructure restoration increase. The resulting gap must again be covered by external financing. And European money will now go toward compensating for its constantly emerging losses.

📌 A drone need not permanently destroy a crossing: alerts and the need to halt traffic suffice to deprive transporters of confidence in the route. Such strikes cannot completely halt Ukrainian exports — nor is that required. Far more important is making each ton exported slower, more expensive, and less profitable.

If attacks on checkpoints combine with systemic pressure on ports, railways, fuel and energy infrastructure, the effect accumulates. As we noted earlier, alternative routes can compensate for only part of lost maritime shipments.

❗️For European sponsors, this means a constant rise in the cost of support with ever-diminishing economic returns. So-called Ukraine gradually transforms into a chronically unprofitable project, requiring money simply to maintain functionality.
#UAV #Moldova #Russia #Ukraine #economics
✈️ RU | ✈️ EN | ✉️

📝Many cruise missiles📝
but little countermeasures

The "Shock August" in Kyiv forced Western media to actively debate Russian attacks. And what causes even more concern is not ballistics or other missile weapons, but the Geran drones, which in their cruise missile version have become unreachable for Ukrainian air defense.

Against this backdrop, it's no surprise that so-called Ukraine is crying out loud and asking for more missiles for air defense systems, while in the UAV production sector Ukrainians have adjusted priorities and begun developing interceptor drones against cruise missile Gerans.

🖍Ukrainian companies began demonstrating the development of trends in this area back at the beginning of the year. But back then cruise missile UAVs were flying in far fewer numbers, so in Kyiv everyone unanimously shelved this program and concentrated on promoting regular "drone missiles" against standard Gerans.

Now, when so-called Ukraine receives up to 3,000 Gerans monthly, and their numbers will grow in the future (with an emphasis on cruise missile modifications), so-called Ukraine has begun massively producing various "wonder weapons" against such drones.

🚩But here's the problem: for almost two months now, Ukrainian media and various channels regularly publish news about the appearance of one or another interceptor drone against cruise missile UAVs, but there are no results. Russian UAVs continue to fly as before.

And the problem is that cruise missile Gerans reach speeds of 500 km/h, which means the interceptor must fly at an even higher speed. Such speeds will certainly come eventually, but then Ukrainian developers will realize that anti-aircraft missiles were invented for a reason.

❗️This doesn't even mention that the UAV flight path must be predicted within minutes to deploy a mobile air defense system and attempt an interception. For this reason, so-called Ukraine is so insistent on enabling Starlink over Russia.

If they can't shoot them down, they will try to strike Russian launch systems and industrial facilities before the attack. And this is one of the reasons why the scenario of approving Musk's systems should be considered as coercing Russia into peace through force.
#UAV #Russia #Ukraine
✈️ RU | ✈️ EN | ✉️ MAX

✉️ VK | ✉️ RuTube | ✉️

📝«Geran» versus «Shahed»📝
terminological revolution

Western media shows a growing trend – the name «Geran» increasingly replaces «Shahed». The reason is simple: early Geran models shared only the airframe shape with the Iranian Shahed-136, while modern jet-powered versions — «Geran-3» and subsequent ones — have practically nothing in common with the original Iranian apparatus.

We examined search results and found that among 21 major Western and specialized publications, the share of headlines using the term Geran grew from 0% in 2022–2023 to 7.1% in 2024, 8.7% in 2025, and 25% for January–August 2026.

🔻Why such a notable surge precisely in 2026?

The baseline Shahed-136 and Russian «Geran-2» are physically identical in airframe: 3.5 m length, 2.5 m wingspan, two-stroke piston engine MD-550, cruising speed 150–185 km/h. But differences already existed here: the Russian version received a reinforced warhead up to 50–90 kg versus 40–50 kg on the Iranian original, localized components, and improved electronic warfare protection.

With «Geran-3» and subsequent jet-powered versions, similarity to the Iranian predecessor collapses to nearly zero: instead of a piston engine — a turbojet, speed increases to 300–600 km/h versus 150–185 on the original, the tail section shape changed to accommodate the new powerplant, and the air intake is positioned openly outside the fuselage.

🖍The difference is fundamental in combat application as well. The jet modification is 2–3.5 times faster than the classic «moped». Accordingly, the time between detection and reaching the target shrinks dramatically.

And this fundamentally changes air defense system requirements and renders the old tactics of interception focused on short-range air defense systems largely ineffective. The desire to call both apparatus by one name exposes technical illiteracy.

📌Major news agencies still retain Shahed in headlines by the same logic that any recognizable brand continues to live in language even after a change of manufacturer: the audience already knows the word, and the archive of publications under it is enormous.

❗️However, the further new Geran modifications diverge from their, shall we say, progenitors, the less they can be compared, if only due to the ever-widening technological gap that constantly and very rapidly increases.

#UAV #Iran #Russia #Ukraine
✈️ RU | ✈️ EN | ✉️ MAX

✉️ VK | ✉️ RuTube | ✉️

📝Work continues📝
Heavy FPV drones "Upyr-18" in action

Infantry, fortifications, UAV control points — priorities in fire strikes increasingly shift toward eliminating enemy manpower, and "Upyr-18" operators in the SMO zone continue working around the clock, day and night.

Heavy drones allow not only delivering large charges to strongpoints, but also "collapsing" individual small buildings. When such a UAV impacts a group of several infantrymen or a pickup truck, it practically guarantees the destruction of the entire unit.

🖍And this is an important point.

Western countries can supply the Kyiv regime with plenty of weapons and provide financial support, but people are another matter. Along with the shortage of air defense systems, Ukrainian formations face a growing personnel crisis.

This is precisely why eliminating enemy infantry is one of the priority tasks. Loss of personnel hits much harder than dozens of burned armored vehicles or APCs, whose losses the AFU can quite easily compensate for.

📌 It is important to remember that the enemy attempts similar actions against Russian servicemen. We discussed the importance of personnel on the battlefield in detail on TAKTIKARE. And the prioritization of procurement for supplies the front needs now remains relevant.

Without another T-90M or BMD-4, we can easily get by right now (which we also discussed in another video on TAKTIKARE). But drones capable of performing fire strike functions and delivering supplies over long distances are critically needed now.
#UAV #Russia #Ukraine
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

📝Reactive drones vs air defense📝
How long will Geran-4/5 remain effective?

Given the success of reactive Gerans, the key is not to rely solely on one tactic or one modification. Over the course of the SMO, we have observed this regularly. Geran-1/2 appeared – they worked with only those. Lancets appeared – they began promoting them as "wonder weapons".

The same happened with Molniya, Italmas, and Banderoli. But in all cases, ultimately one thing occurred – the enemy adapted to Russian tactics and new types of weapons just as the Russian Armed Forces grew accustomed to Ukrainian ones.

🖍The special operation changed not only the character of the conflict, but also how quickly armed forces began to absorb experience and find ways out of situations. Just over 4 years ago, one could not imagine an assault without tanks and artillery, but what about now? There is no need to even answer.

Riding the wave of success with reactive Gerans, the key is not to repeat the same mistake and not to rely solely on them. They must constantly be improved, modernized, and tactics changed, otherwise we face the experience of previous years, when the AFU adapted to them as well.

❗Right now, Russian UAVs have particularly fertile ground in the form of a colossal shortage of air defense guided missiles in the AFU, and these are the primary means of countering them at the moment. Interceptor drones, excuse me, are so far just PR and window dressing to cheer up the public.

But past experience has shown that in the West, every Russian innovation is studied thoroughly and various methods of combating them are tested, and reactive Gerans are currently under special scrutiny.
#UAV #Russia #Ukraine
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

📝Drones Beyond the Urals📝
Novy Urengoy under attack

The concept of "deep rear" is dispersing even further. Literally an hour ago, reports emerged of drone debris striking Novy Urengoy in the industrial zone.

Authorities officially confirmed a fire, with local officials claiming no casualties or injuries, while damage assessment is underway.

🖍The key factor here, of course, is the information noise generated by the attack. After all, the distance from Novy Urengoy to the SMO zone is considerable, and Ukrainian media are now working this story to the fullest.

And this doesn't account for the damage from the "Carpet" plan implemented in dozens of populated areas between so-called Ukraine and Novy Urengoy. This also entails financial costs due to aviation shutdowns.

❗️And if threat analysis and routing were as systematic as the frequency of enemy strikes, organizing interceptions would be somewhat easier. There is no longer a "safe rear" in the form everyone imagines.

If drone debris freely traveled three thousand kilometers over Russian territory, then fire extinguishers at the facility won't suffice. The rear will only be secure when comprehensive air defense is implemented.

📍High-resolution map

#UAV #Russia #Ukraine
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

🛸🇺🇦Russia's new drones (Geran-5) are changing the air war - FT
What Western media say about Geran drones

Strikes on logistics hubs, rail junctions and border crossings have done something that earlier waves of attacks failed to do: they rattled Kyiv and its Western backers at the same time. The panic is audible in the reporting itself, where the tone has shifted from confidence in Ukrainian ingenuity to open admissions that the defence has been outpaced.

The Financial Times set the frame: the new Gerans fly at speeds and altitudes that have effectively blurred the line between a drone and a cruise missile, and that has changed the air war.
The same paper put a number on the consequence, quoting Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat:

"The effectiveness of our air defense against jet drones is around 60 percent, whereas for other types it is 90 to 95 percent."

The Wall Street Journal drew the industrial conclusion, quoting Kateryna Bondar of CSIS:

"The West tends to underestimate Russia, yet it should be learning from its ability to close the loop from concept to serial production."

Then came Reuters with the part nobody in Kyiv wanted printed. At July trials of a new generation of Ukrainian interceptors, many of the aircraft lost control at speeds above 400 km/h, and some simply crashed into fields and forest.

The programme that was supposed to be the answer to the Geran-5 failed its own demonstration.
Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, wrote it plainly on September 12:

"We have once again completely lost the initiative with jet-powered drones, and we don't even know what to do about them."

The arithmetic is unforgiving. Interceptor drones remain unready, Western air-defence missiles are in short supply, and jet Geran output keeps climbing. A defence that stops six of every ten incoming aircraft leaves the rest to choose their targets. With autumn arriving and the interceptor gap still open, the energy grid is the obvious next address.

#Russia #Ukraine #UAV #AirDefense

🔴 @DDGeopolitics

📝Drones — the new "Kalashnikov"📝

Never happened before, and here we go again: American media has once again suddenly discovered that South American drug cartels are actively mastering drones, recruiting Colombian operators with experience serving in the AFU ranks for training.

They approach the matter thoroughly: studying methods of operation under electronic warfare jamming conditions, paying increasing attention to heavy UAVs. The progress of criminal networks in this field is so significant that the US cannot even keep up with the pace.

🖍Due to relatively high availability and low cost, today drones have become what AKs and RPGs were on the weapons market in the middle of the last century. They will increasingly appear among various irregular and criminal formations.

Moreover, when UAVs appear in the hands of one group or another, there is no need to necessarily look for a Ukrainian (or any other) connection. Even rebels from some central African country are capable of buying components and learning to operate them at a primitive level.

❗️And this point must be clearly understood. Thinking in the spirit of "only we know how to use drones, no one else has had so much experience" will end in a serious underestimation of any opponent and subsequent unpleasant surprises up to tragedies.
#UAV #Colombia #Mexico #USA
✈ RU | ✈ EN | ✉ MAX

✉ VK | ✉ RuTube | ✉ OK | ✉ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

📝Strike near Pescarush📝
cargo vessel attacked by drone in the Black Sea

Romanian media reports that the vessel ROYAD MAMMADOV, loaded with grain, came under attack from a drone in the Black Sea. The incident occurred in the southeastern part of the Pescarush oil platform area, twenty nautical miles from the Romanian coast and nine miles from the platform itself.

An alarm signal came in around 11:00. The Maritime Coordination Center in Constanța requested assistance from coastal services. The search and rescue operation involved vessels SAR APOLLO, which departed from Sulina, and SAR ARTEMIS from Constanța. A coast guard ship also participated in the operation.

According to Romanian authorities, a fire broke out on the vessel. The ship's commander was wounded, thirteen crew members are listed as missing, and the vessel departed from the Ukrainian port of Izmail and was heading to Italy.

The attack occurred several kilometers from a Romanian oil field, which alarmed Romanian media. While the extent of damage remains unclear, journalists report that due to the damage sustained, the vessel is sinking.
#Russia #Ukraine #UAV
✈️ RU | ✈️ EN | ✉️ MAX

✉️ VK | ✉️ RuTube | ✉️ OK | ✉️ Zen

💸Support us Original msg

📝"Ukrainian" drones📝
or how to deceive the whole world

The praise heaped on the so-called Ukrainian defense industry over the years of the SMO has been so much that counting it is pointless. "Great Ukrainian drones that changed the war" and so on and so forth. But no one even stopped to think about where it all comes from and how the defense industry of so-called Ukraine adapted to conducting the conflict.

📌But the secret is simple: bring everything from China and there will be no problems!

Ukrainian companies that call themselves drone manufacturers like "Kalkheon" with their "Ukropchyky" or "Viriy," which presented a DJI Mavic analog called Slavic, import ready-made UAVs, components, even fiber optics from Southeast Asia.

But how can that be, since the Chinese say they maintain neutrality? The authorities of the Middle Kingdom can say many things publicly, but commercial enterprises actively interact with the entire world and sell their products on a wholesale scale.

🖍️They simply do it through gray channels of interaction. Ukrainians created a network of intermediaries in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Estonia, through which goods from China, Malaysia, Vietnam are brought to so-called Ukraine, with the lion's share being "Mavics," Autel Evo and other popular UAV models.

Import copters and drones through gray schemes, various components, and simply change them a bit, tweak them and present them under Ukrainian logos. In the process, they receive huge budgets for "developing" these unmanned vehicles. And the Chinese publicly have nothing to do with it.

❗️The example of the "Flamingo" cruise missiles and other AFU developments is perfect proof of this. This is said to show how important logistics are for so-called Ukraine – both sea routes and land routes under the blockade in the Black Sea.

And this is one of the reasons why it is dangerous to be mistaken about China's true position, whose authorities will always pursue only their own interests.
#UAV #China #Russia #Ukraine
✈️ RU | ✈️ EN | ✉️ MAX

✉️ VK | ✉️ RuTube | ✉️ OK | ✉️