Overnight on the August 29/30, 2023, russia experienced up to five separate strikes by one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (OWA-UAVs) – the largest attack on russia since the start of the full-scale war, the UK Defense Intelligence reports. Explosions were recorded in Moscow, Bryansk and Ryazan, as well as at Pskov air base close to the Estonian border.
The attack on Pskov likely damaged several russian military transport aircraft. During August 2023 russia experienced 25 separate drone attacks, almost certainly carried out by OWA-UAVs.
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Many of these UAVs have reached their targets, which likely means that russian air defense is having difficulty detecting and destroying them. Russia is likely rethinking its air defense posture in the area between Ukraine and Moscow to better deal with these attacks.
Previous strikes against russian military air bases have led to the dispersal of russian aircraft to locations across russia. However, the recent strikes against Soltsy and Pskov have demonstrated that the UAVs have significant reach, making further dispersal more challenging. It is likely that russia will have to consider the addition of further air defense systems to airfields that it considers to be at risk from UAV attacks.
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