From October 23 to 25, Ukrainian Defense Forces inflicted significant losses on russian air defense, eliminating two Buk-M3 systems and a radar station. This is the largest loss of such assets within such a short period since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and it highlights the effectiveness of new drone-based tactics.
On October 23, Ukrainian UAV operators from the Unmanned Systems Forces successfully identified and destroyed an artillery unit equipped with russia’s latest Buk-M3 system.
Read more: Two Weeks of Ukrainian Drone Strikes Achieve More Than Two Years of Sanctions: russian Artillery Fire Rate Dropped By 1.5x
Then, on the night of October 25, drones located and destroyed a second Buk-M3 system along with a 9S36 radar station used for target illumination and missile guidance within the Buk-M2 system. These assets were positioned in temporarily occupied Luhansk, just a few dozen kilometers from the front line, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This new tactic of using drones to destroy costly air defense systems demonstrates impressive cost efficiency. For instance, a Ukrainian multicopter bomber can approach an enemy position and drop a $500 munition onto a russian air defense system worth millions.
Previously, Ukrainian forces primarily targeted such air defense systems with HIMARS artillery. However, the new drone tactic has shown that similarly effective results can be achieved with much lower costs.
The General Staff has emphasized that operations targeting russian air defense systems will continue, paving the way for increased strikes on enemy positions both at the front line and in rear areas.
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