Ukrainian official sources said naval drones hit two high-value Russian air defense systems in the southern Kherson region on Monday, but had no immediate comment on speculation that the strikes used the rare tactic of launching kamikaze aircraft from a sea platform, not land.
News reports said the strikes took place near the Kherson region village of Khorly, some 80-85 kilometers (50-53 miles) from the closest probable Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) drone launch sites on land. Ukrainian First Person View (FPV) drones are usually rated with a one-way maximum range of 20-30 kilometers (12-19 miles), and a usual operating range of about two-thirds that.
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Video published by the Ukrainian navy showed a drone equipped with night vision optics attacking a Russian Pantir-S1 air defense system. Equipped with short-range missiles and a pair of powerful autocannon, the Pantsir is the Russian military’s premier anti-drone weapon. Open sources say the price of a single system is $15-$20 million.
The Ukrainian video shows the attack drone flying seemingly unimpeded to make a hit in the open doorway of the operators’ compartment. The Pantsir’s radar dish spins but neither cannon nor missiles seem to fire at the drone. From the video, it is not possible to determine the extent of damage.
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The Ukrainian navy claimed two Panstir systems were destroyed. The video showed a single Pantsir and a single hit. Some unofficial Ukrainian military information platforms reported the strike drones were launched from seaborne drones operated by the Ukrainian navy.
Serhii Sternenko, a high-profile Ukrainian volunteer specializing in crowd-sourcing massed-produced drones for the military, in a Monday Twitter/X post said the attack had been carried out by sea-launched drones modified thanks to crowd-funding: “The Navy near Skadovsk hit the Russian Pantsir SAM with the help of your (public-financed) drone. We previously purchased a batch of such FPVs that integrate with naval carriers (remote-controlled boats).”
A Kyiv Post request for comment to Ukraine’s Special Operations Command had not been responded to by the time this article was published.
In engagements elsewhere on the front on Monday, Ukrainian forces claimed they used long-range artillery and missiles to destroy one tactical OSA air defense system and two S-300 air defense systems.
The first confirmed Ukrainian attack using kamikaze drones launched from a remote-controlled motor boat took place on Dec. 7 when a wave of Magura-7 boats launched explosives-toting quadcopters at Black Sea drilling platforms used by Russian forces for observation and air defense.
Special operators from Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR and the Ukrainian navy set at least two platforms afire. The AFU has also used robot boats carrying warheads weighing up to a half-ton to ram surface targets, including Russian warships.
A recent Ukrainian innovation combining seaborne drones and air operations – robot motor boats mounted with anti-aircraft missiles – was used in combat on Dec. 31. In a sea battle taking place near the Russia-occupied Crimea peninsula, Russian Mi-8 helicopters attacked a flotilla of Magura V5 remote-controlled boats. Two Russian helicopters were shot down in history’s first-ever case of air defense systems aboard a sea drone scoring a kill against attacking manned aircraft, a HUR statement said.
Soviet-era R-73 air-to-air missiles jury-rigged to fire from a sea platform were used in the shoot-down. The engagement took place offshore from Cape Tarkankut at far western Crimea, the statement said.
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