This low tech, low cost drone built on motorcycle engine and modified cellphone electronics, costs less than $4000 to manufacture.
With only 40kg payload and rather low speed, it has a limited range and ability to strike armoured vehicles or buildings. But it's "mirror" like function has turned it to a fearful weapons in a war against Ukraine.
The Russian sources say they send 32 drones towards Ukraine's capital, Kiev. First Ukraine said they intercepted 20 drones, but now they say Russia sent 54 drones and Ukrainian forces intercepted 52 of those.
Eyewitness reports mentioned at least 10 explosions on the ground at various locations in Kiev.
I guess this is just another example of lies and miss information about this war and we may never know the real number.
Pa. Maybe someone in Ukraine is stealing the anti aircraft missiles and using this to hide their theft, like Iran's IRGC did back in mid 80s with SCUD missiles.
The Shahed -131/136 that Russian Geran-2 is based on, has an accuracy of ±2m but the recent attacks by these drones showing direct hit at the Ukrainian Mobile air defense system (or those received by Ukraine from NATO).
This is an interesting upgrade for a cheap drone that cost less than $4000 to take out a multi million dollars system like Patriot or S-300.
Of course, as always, there are no ways to verify the accuracy of these claims and the attacks could have been done by the more advanced Lancet drones.
#Ukraine #Russia #UkraineWar #Geran2 #Drones #ParriotMissiles #S300 #Propaganda
Russia claims they destroyed 2 patriot launching system as well as a large number of missiles in the past 72h strikes using Geran-2 drones to lure Ukraine forces to activate their radar followed by radar detecting missiles that hit those targets.
CNN reported that one patriot missile system was lightly damaged during the Monday missile strikes "somewhere" in Ukraine.
Without independent reporters on the ground, it is impossible to know which side telling the truth or lying and how much of the truth is in what ww hear and read from them.
But one thing is for sure, patriot systems were operational in Ukraine as the images showing.
#Ukraine #Russia #UkraineWar #PatriotMissiles #Geran2 #Drones #Missiles #WarLies #Propaganda
Ukraine claimed they intercepted 15 out of 18 missiles as Moscow launches strikes apparently designed to hamper Kyiv’s plans for a counteroffensive
But Russian sources and eye witness report says that they used Geran-2 drones to identify and locate radars and air defense system of Ukraine forces that were later hit by the supersonic KH101 followed by massive bombing by 17 TU-95 strategic bombers who could operate without any major air defense activities.
This is the biggest bombing operation into a single position of Ukrainien forces by Russia and it seems to target storage facilities and amonition depot of NATO/Ukraine forces planned to be used during the anticipated counter offensive by Kiev's troops.
Russian missiles have struck warehouses reportedly storing ammunition at a railway depot in the Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad, in an apparent effort to slow Kyiv’s preparations for its much anticipated counteroffensive expected to start shortly.
Video posted on social media showed secondary detonations amid a significant blaze at the site of the strike, which came amid overnight missile launches against a number of Ukrainian cities by Russian strategic bombers.
The size of the fire in Pavlohrad suggests Russia may have hit an important arms depot and comes after Ukraine’s recent attack on an oil storage facility in Sevastopol, Crimea.
#Politics #Ukraine #Russia #Airstrike #Pavlohrad #Pavlograd #NATO #Geran2 #kh101
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/01/ukraine-ammunition-depot-reportedly-hit-in-wave-of-russian-missile-attacks
The news was reported about a year ago, but it didn't go into production until recently. The "Ababil-2" is a larger drone with bigger payload and more versatile use fhan the low cost Shahed 134 that's been on the news a lot lately.
On May 17, 2022, Iran inaugurated a drone factory in neighboring #Tajikistan. The factory is officially #Iran’s first drone production facility abroad and will manufacture and export the Ababil-2, a multipurpose drone with reconnaissance, combat, and suicide capabilities. With this factory, Iran intends to reinforce bilateral relations and reduce recent tensions with Tajikistan, address shared security concerns on the Afghan border, boost profits in a growing export market, and complicate Israeli efforts to further sabotage its drone program.
No reliabld information about the source of the engine and electronics used in those drones are available other than some speculations by Israeli and Azeri media.
There are news of #Venezuela, #Nicaragua, #Ethiopia and 2 other countries interested in license manufacture Iranian designed drones, but the information can't be verified.
This is also not including the roumers of Russia manufacturing Shahed drones domestically with the code name #Geran2 that was used by the 100s in the past year to target Ukrainian facilities and to overwhelm their air defense system.
#Ukraine #Russia #Geran2 #Drones #Kiev #UoraineWar
If they can capture such pictures of these drones, they should easily be able to shoot them down.
Some Ukrainian accounts on Telegram says that only 5 out of 28 drones reached their target. But the images shared by media and private accounts show more explosions than 5.
I remember the IRGC people on an Iran-Defense group used to call them for working ants. Their main goal is to saturate the air defence of the enemy and costing them lots of very expensive SAMs rather than being effective in battle. And make it easier for more sophisticated missiles and drones to penetrate and hit targets inside Israel (the main target of the Iran's drone weapons).
It seems like Russians have learned a lesson and stepping up their small, low speed drones to empty the arsenal of SAMs Ukraine has received from US and NATO nations.
#Geran2 is a copy of the Iranian drone.
It uses a motorcycle engine and open source electronics of a cheap Chinese mobile phone.
It has a low speed and low altitude capabilities and with max 40kg of payload, it is as deadly as a small 120mm artillery.
Anyone can build one in their garage and I'm sure Russians just copied the design rather than buying them from Iran.
With it's low speed, it can easily be destroyed by old fashion anti aircraft canons or machine guns.
But that doesn't stop the "world" from blaming Iran with almost 0 proof or backing.
The fact that Ukraine decided to move all those 1000s of SAMs to the front and leaving the major cities including Kiev completely defenceless was a choice made by the military leaders of the country and now using it for asking for more help and blaming Iran for their failure to shoot down these low tech low speed drones.
