The Ukrainian government emphasizes that russia is preparing for new combined attacks on the energy sector and has already started using new "lawnmower" drones for this purpose. Find out if Ukraine is able to protect its skies from massive attacks this winter

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According to numerous statements by Ukrainian authorities and experts, it is becoming clear that russia is amassing missiles for large-scale attacks on the energy sector. So far, only a small percentage of russian drones and missiles have reached their targets and hit critical infrastructure, but this could change if russia starts using massive combined attacks again. In addition, russia has recently used new attack drones with cheap Chinese engines to attack Ukraine, which operate in much the same way as the infamous "chessmen."

We previously wrote here about how many missiles russia has left and how many the aggressor produces every month. We will discuss whether Ukraine will be able to effectively repel russian attacks in the event of massive shelling and what this winter will be like for Ukrainians in the article below.

Lawn mowers instead of mopeds: what is known about russia's new attack drones?

On the night of October 21-22, russia launched new attack drones of an unspecified type for the first time to attack Ukraine. A characteristic feature of these drones is the sound of the engine. Unlike the Shaheds, which "sound" like mopeds, the noise from the new drones is more like a lawn mower.

And although they are a very cheap analog of the Iranian drone, the air force claims that they do not pose a strong threat, as they are launched only to detect and deplete Ukrainian air defense systems.

"There are fragments, there are remains, you can see what the enemy is using to make them. In fact, they bought engines from AliExpress and this is how the enemy will use them. This is not the first time that this plane is being sculpted from simple materials, as they say, "from sticks" and launched towards our country," said Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during a telethon.

At the same time, the spokesperson notes that despite the flawed design, the new drones can carry several kilograms of explosives and therefore can hit certain targets. 

But the main problem is that such a "homemade drone" is much cheaper than the missile that will be used to shoot it down by Ukrainian air defense forces.

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How many air defense systems does Ukraine have and are the existing systems capable of protecting Ukrainian skies?

Over the past few months, the Ukrainian government has been actively discussing with its Western partners additional supplies of air defense systems to protect the Ukrainian sky. And there have been some improvements in this regard, but are the existing systems enough to repel attacks and does Ukraine have enough ammunition and missiles to shoot down?

Currently, Ukraine is armed with Soviet long- and medium-range systems, such as: S-300, S-125, Buk (Buk-M1), Osa, TOR, Shilka, and Strela air defense systems. Soviet MiG-29 and Su-27 aircraft are also involved in the defense of the sky.

In addition, Western partners have transferred thousands of short-range (or short-range) systems, including Stinger, Gepard, Starstreak, Mistral, Aspide, Crotale, Skynex, Avenger, and Stormer MANPADS. As well as medium-range systems (Iris-T, NASAMS, HAWK) and long-range systems Patriot and SAMP/T (Mamba).

Although it may seem that Ukraine has a sufficient number of air defense systems, the problem is the lack of missiles to use these systems. It is also important that the lack of anti-aircraft missiles is felt not only for Western systems, but also for Soviet ones, such as the C-300.

These issues are being addressed both at the national level and jointly with Western partners. There is information that the United States plans to implement the FrankenSAM project. According to foreign media, this project is aimed at strengthening the Ukrainian air defense system by adapting Soviet BUKs to American RIM-7 missiles. 

It also became known that Ukraine was able to convert American AIM-9 missiles for F-16 air-to-air missiles into surface-to-air missiles, which allowed them to be used to shoot down russian targets.

Although Ukraine is actively working to replace Soviet air defense systems with newer, more effective systems, the number of such systems is currently critically insufficient, as are the missiles for them. Therefore, this winter may become another challenge for the Ukrainian people.

But at the same time, the Ukrainian government emphasizes that while the energy sector is in a worse state than last year, the Ukrainian air defense system has, on the contrary, strengthened and expanded. In addition, the so-called "mobile groups" have started working in Ukraine to destroy the drones used by russia to attack the country on a daily basis.

We remind you! The first massive shelling of Ukraine's energy system in the last six months took place on September 21, when russia attacked critical infrastructure facilities in several regions. Read more about the consequences of the missile attack and how it affected Ukraine's energy system in our previous article.

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Photo: alternathistory

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