With a simple trick!

Kiev’s kamikaze drones now fly twice as far

Simple trick allows Ukraine's drones to fly twice as far.(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

While Russia is throwing vast amounts of men and material into battle in Ukraine and even considers itself prepared for a nuclear war, the Ukrainian army has managed to double the range of its kamikaze drones with a trick that is as simple as it is ingenious. In this way, the Russian attackers are repeatedly dealt painful blows.

Russia and Ukraine attack each other daily with numerous combat drones. On Wednesday, Ukraine again reported deaths and injuries from drone attacks in the city of Sumy.

Mutual bombardment with drones
In the Russian region of Ryazan, south-east of Moscow, another fire broke out at an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack. There were casualties. The fire has now been extinguished. Only on Tuesday, the Ukrainian army had set fire to a fuel depot and a refinery on Russian territory. In general, industrial plants are increasingly being targeted by the defenders.

Double the range thanks to an ingenious trick
What is striking about the latest attacks is that the range of the Ukrainian developments has increased. Whereas the kamikaze drones previously had a range of around ten kilometers, they can now reach up to 20 kilometers.

This is due to a very simple trick: instead of a single drone, the Ukrainians also send a second drone on their destructive mission. The accompanying drones have a small device installed that amplifies the signals in the air. The accompanying drones stop at the end of their range, but with the amplified signals the kamikaze drones can fly even further and thus carry out attacks behind the front line.

In the drone war, however, Ukraine is not only relying on such simple tricks, but also on high technology from the West and its own production. Up to one million drones are to be produced cheaply in the country by 2024. Since the Russian invasion two years ago, the number of Ukrainian drone manufacturers has more than doubled to around 200.

Conversely, Russia is also increasingly attacking with drones. It is a race for innovation between Ukrainian and Russian manufacturers. "They are learning to camouflage their drones better, and we are learning to recognize them better and render them harmless," says a Ukrainian expert who does not want to give his name for security reasons.