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​What Are the Attack Drones Engaged For the russian Strike on Kherson Hospital

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russian Orion multirole UAV / Open source illustrative photo
russian Orion multirole UAV / Open source illustrative photo

russian forces use not only kamikaze drones but as well the "classical" multirole attack UAVs which we should not forget about

Another russian strike on Kherson city in southern Ukraine took place on the evening of March 16, with a local hospital coming under fire. While the Ukrainian military only confirmed the fact of enemy attack, local authorities from the Kherson region administration said the strike was done by attack drones, although not specified either the type or quantity of them.

When it comes to a drone attack on frontline facilities or critical civilian infrastructure,Usually we talk about iranian Shahed-136, or russian Lancet, or rarely – Zala Kub. But we should mention that russians as well have several "classical" multirole attack UAVs that are produced either in small batches or are basically products of russian soldiers' handicraft on the battlefield.

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russian Forpost UAV
russian Forpost UAV / Open source illustrative photo

In particular, russian army has the Forpost UAV that initially was used only for reconnaissance, the volumes of serial production are about 100 units. In 2021, russian military showed us a handmade modification of this UAV that received an ability to carry up to one or two KAB-20 air bombs.

Illustrative photo: Forpost UAV dropping KAB-20S bombs during the
Illustrative photo: Forpost UAV dropping KAB-20S bombs during the "Zapad-2021" military drills / Open source photo

The first presentation of such a "handicraft" drone took place during the "Zapad-2021" military drills in russia. after February 24, 2022 we can only find few information about this russian product. It is known that at least five of these we are taken down by the Armed Forces of Ukraine over May-December 2022, and that the russians themselves destroyed two of their Forposts – in July 2022 when a drone fell on a residential area in Taganrog, and in January 2023 when such a UAV armed with KAB-20S bombs crashed into power lines in Belgorod region.

Another russian attack drone worth mentioning is the Orion reconnaissance-and-attack UAV, also known under designation Inokhodets. and so beginning of 2022, russian army had one system of this type comprising three aerial vehicles. One of them was taken down by Ukrainian air defense back in April last year, and one more was destroyed by the russians themselves. It looked like russians decided to completely shut down the project they labeled as the "Bayraktar TB2 analog."

However, in summer 2022 russians announced the production of two more Orion UAVs and even published some photos as proof. Then, in autumn-winter last year, they started once again to deploy these attack drones to the skies over the Kherson region. Ukrainian air defense answered by taking two russian Orions down in late september and late December 2022, respectively. The last one was claimed by Ukrainian forces in February this year.

Manufacture of the russian Orion UAV at the Kronshtadt factory, staged photo published by russian media in June 2022
Manufacture of the russian Orion UAV at the Kronshtadt factory, staged photo published by russian media in June 2022
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