The propaganda resources of the russians claim that this aerostat was equipped with a GPS tracker, ballast, power source, electronics, and an explosive device. Allegedly, the electronics on these balloons are programmed to detonate the explosive device precisely at the specified coordinates. Moreover, the design of this balloon rather resembles a weather balloon, allegedly to complicate its detection by enemy air defense systems.
Images depicting the external appearance of this balloon drones have already appeared in open access.
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At first glance, the message appears quite optimistic because it may indicate that Ukrainian defenders have found a new improvised means to strike the enemy. However, here it is worth being more cautious, as we should not rule out the following scenario: The kamikaze balloon could have been launched by the russian occupiers themselves, but it was accidentally shot down by their own "friendly fire."
The news of this episode of balloon use in russia's war against Ukraine reminds us of the "balloon war" in early 2023 when russian occupiers regularly launched balloons with a shell diameter of 2-3 meters and angular radar reflectors.
The purpose of such launches could have been either direct reconnaissance of the Ukrainian air defense system or "spamming" the air defense.
Moreover, it was about small-sized balloons, which were quite difficult to shoot down due to their small size.
The problem in this story was compounded by the fact that the russian army still has various types and purposes of aerostats at its disposal.
In particular, we are talking here about balloons with corner reflectors like Au-23, designed to be used as targets for air defense training. However, we are also talking about aerostats of types AN-C1 and VAL-120, which can even carry small-caliber aerial bombs.
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