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The scene took place a clear day of June. From a secret location, a six -meter “nurse” drone rose to the sky by order of the soldiers, crossed 200 kilometers within the enemy territory and released two suicide drones that hung from their wings. Designed to fly at low altitude and avoid radars, secondary drones autonomously searched for an objective and, once identified, they threw themselves to detonate on it without direct human intervention.
This is today the Ukraine War.
Systematic terror. We have gone counting to Long of the war in Ukraine. The Shahed drone has become the MORE MORTÍFERA of the contest thanks to additions and evolutions Like fiberbut from a while at this part that evolution is exceeding the known limits. He counted The New York Times In a long and overwhelming piece what is assuming for the Ukrainian people. He Shahed-136developed by Iran and manufactured under a license by Russia as Geran-2, has evolved from being a rudimentary two-stroke drone and cardboard fuselage reinforced to a sophisticated horror weapon.
Russia lo has modified with rBlack ecubows For night flights, interference resistant navigation, multiple types of eyelets (included Thermobáricaincendiary and fragmentation with Tungsten balls) and navigation systems assisted by Sim Ukranian cards and kometa satellite antennas, resistant TO THE ELECTRONIC WAR.
Cheap. The cost per unit, between 50,000 and 80,000 dollarsit makes it a much cheaper option than ballistic missiles such as Iskander-M (2 million) or The KH-101and even cheaper than the anti -aircraft missiles that are used to intercept them. Its low cost, mass production In industrial complexes In Tartaristan and Izhevsk, and his adaptability has made him one of the most effective weapons of modern war, ideal for hosting civil rear and exhausting defenses.
Missiles with ia. They underlined In Forbes The most striking fact of the last evolutions of the Shahed: Reaction engines. Although they will go He had presented publicly a variant of this type (the Shahed-238), It was not until recently that its use in Ukraine was confirmed by means of remains analyzed in the field. It is estimated that these models can reach speeds of up to 480 km/hquadruplying the cruise speed of the previous versions.
Its acute and fast roar replaces the buzz of the old engine, and its speed drastically reduces the reaction time of the defenses. However, its cost and complexity probably forces Russia to use a Mixed strategy of drones A piston and turbojetfurther complicating defensive systems.
Visual navigation: more. In addition to more powerful engines, some Shahed units are now armored in compartment of the engine and with relocated fuel tanks inside the fuselage. This has reduced and much reduced the effectiveness of light weapons, forcing defensive operators to point surgical precision to vulnerable parts such as the wing or the engine itself.
Plus: Shahed drones have already been seen with computerized vision systems with Artificial Intelligence Processorsaccording to images released on June 18 by the Ukrainian specialist Serhii Beskrestnov. These systems offer autonomous visual navigation, regardless of GPS, which would make them immune offers one of the most effective defensive tactics so far: satellite interference.
The Shahed would thus enter into a new era of autonomy and lethality.
Shahed intercepted
Fear of night. Explain in your reports the Times that everything changed from mid -2024, when the releases shot: 34 drones per week in 2022, more than 1,000 per week In 2025. On June 8 of this year, Russia launched 479 drones in one night. Many Shahed no longer aimed at military objectives: they impact markets, apartments, churches and other tactical value, in violation of Geneva conventions.
According to UkraineRussia has implemented a deliberate night horror campaign to emotionally and physically exhaust the civilian population. 20% of drones manage to overcome Ukrainian defenses in certain weeks, a growing figure.
Ukrainian counteroffensive. To counteract the threat, Ukraine has deployed specialized units Like Darknodea secret regiment within unmanned systems forces. These soldiers, mostly reconverted civilians, fight night battles using hunter drones To intercept Shaheds. Its technology, even in development, already allows identifying and destroying enemy drones in flight, even when they maneuver or change altitude.
He Times explained cases like him Kyryloa young pilot recruited for his video game skills that has already demolished more than a dozen objectives. They use interceptor drones of $ 6,000 and throw them from open fields following patterns that remind of night agricultural rituals. In this regard, one of their greatest advantages is that they can guide the enemy drone away from inhabited areas before it explodes, avoiding collateral damage.
Black Shahed
Evolutionary career. In a race that does not stop, Russia has also adjusted its tactics: the Shaheds now They fly higherthey change altitude, they follow convoluted routes and are accompanied by lures such as The gerbera dronesbuilt in foam, which consume missiles and distract defenses.
In addition, some Shahed units carry cameras to evaluate the damage or for remote assistance in flight. In other words, the war has entered into a dynamic of constant innovation: each improvement in defense is answered by a Russian tactical evolution. “It’s like a race between sword and armor”, He explained to the newspaper A Ukrainian soldier.
Russian guide in drone handling with fiber
The fiber and a guide. It We count A few weeks ago. Fiber drones are evolution MORE MORTÍFERA From the contest to the point that Russia has published A manual (image on top) for FPV operations with optical fiber. It includes procedures for wind conditions, such as avoiding the fiber on trees or electric lines that can move and break the cable, and reduce the altitude to 1 or 2 meters to minimize the curvature of the cable.
Why the rules change. Regarding the fiber, he remembered The Financial Times that all the last Russian drones use an ultrafine cable to maintain continuous connection with their operator, which makes them immune to electromagnetic interference. Ukrainian defenses, based on GPS signal blocking, radio or cell phone, are useless to this technology. The method allows drones to act In real time With precise instructions, without fear of losing signal or falling into traps of Spoofing. And they do it with great precision, even within urban environments.
The coverage of critical roads with Anti -Didered networks and the prohibition of daytime movements in certain sectors are desperate responses to an unprecedented threat. In the Siversk area, For examplethe commanders have ordered to restrict vehicular movement only to twilight or during the night to avoid lethal attacks.
A war that is globalized. The evolution of Shahed also has strategic implications beyond Ukraine. As explained President Zelenski during the G7 summit, long -range drones attacks are emerging as a characteristic of The wars of the future. With costs of between $ 50,000 and $ 80,000 per unit, and using free market components, the Shahed represents an industrial revolution in weapons: lethal, cheap and replicable.
The urgency Thus, while Ukrainian cities They keep burning At night, the country’s defenses depend more and more on their ability to adapt to the same rhythm as Make the Shahed. Ukraine asks Western allies, especially the United States and the EU, to accelerate the sending of technical and economic aid.
Meanwhile, in the trenches and the devastated peoples, the War is redefined in terms of technology, adaptability and human exhaustion. The appearance of drones impossible to blockthe surgical precision of Russian attacks with examples that act autonomously in search of the human objective, and the structural instability of the Ukrainian defensive lines, announce a new phase of the conflict: less visible, more lethal and radically asymmetric.
If you want also, the question no longer points to whether the drones will change the war, but how much time the most vulnerable fronts collapse.
Image | Wikimedia Commons, BORN, CNS, X
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