In The News

Samuel Bendett says, "Most of these defenses were built to identify and destroy larger targets like missiles, helicopters, aircraft. Many were not really geared towards identifying much smaller UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles]."

Samuel Bendett says that this massive initiative could lead to more large-scale loitering munition attacks and an uptick in strikes by FPV drones and also increase Moscow's battlefield.

Samuel Bendett says, “Russia boasted of having layered defenses before the war, the sensor electronic warfare, different missile batteries, kinetic batteries, radars, that can sort of identify and interdict the threat."

Samuel Bendett says that at present Russian FPVs are mainly used by irregular units from the Russian-controlled DNR/LNR region and contractors such as Wagner.

Sam Bendett says, "The key to FPV drones is their cost - around $400-600 on average—made possible by easy purchase of Chinese-made components that make up these drones."

Samuel Bendett says, “It’s hard to judge how this drone will perform against significant and sophisticated countermeasures that exist in the region. It’s likely that just like Mohajer-6, this drone is presented for export.”

Dmitry Gorenburg says that Prigozhin being murdered by Russian forces could be viewed as a message for others to not defy him and the Kremlin in the future.

Samuel Bendett says, The most recent attack is "embarrassing, since the strategic bombers were not in any type of shelter or cover."

Samuel Bendett says, “This can be used against stationary and moving targets – anything from tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and other systems, to infantry units on the move and in trenches, and against any target that is identified as a Russian military one.”

Samuel Bendett says, “If this Izdelie 54 is a ‘long-range’ drone, it will probably have to compete more with Shahed, but it all depends on specs. It's possible that this new drone will fill the gap between Lancet and Shahed capability - with a range of 80-200km, or may be designed for even longer ranges.”

Samuel Bendett says, “The fact that the ruble is weak is not necessarily affecting the military-industrial sector. It is not necessarily affecting the acquisition and development of technologies. It may impact regular people down range. Right now the Russian economy appears to be holding as recognized by multiple global experts and as recognized by the international community. The economy is bent but did not break.”

Samuel Bendett says, “This is Russia’s response to the Ukrainian attacks against Russian military ports.”

Samuel Bendett says, Kyiv had a “strategy to demonstrate Ukrainian capability. Last year Ukraine lacked a lot of the capability to strike deep inside Russia. Starting late last year and all of this year, Kyiv has demonstrated that it has the technology, the UAVs and the drones, to actually bring the war to the Russian territory. A lot of Russian military and civilian targets were struck, along with attacks on civilian territories, in a response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians.”

Samuel Bendett says, the reason for fingering this as a likely scam is a matter of history. Scams are hardly unusual in the Russian drone business. “As far as siphoning off funds goes — anything is possible.”

Samuel Bendett says, “We’ve now seen in Russian media that these are in fact domestic assembly, and there are changes introduced in the design based on their own needs. This is indicative of Russians trying to come up with a drone that’s just as capable as the original Shahed that could then be scaled up in significant quantities.”

Samuel Bendett says, “Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are essential elements in providing militaries with underwater surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. They can essentially dive at different depths, they can carry different sensor packages—such as cameras for observation—or they can potentially be armed for combat.”