russia has already equipped five sites in the occupied Crimea to launch Shahed-type kamikaze drones at Ukraine, according to an intelligence report by the British Ministry of Defense, UNN reports .
Details
According to intelligence, russia is likely to disperse its UAV launch capabilities in several locations to both protect its forces and complicate Ukrainian air defense efforts.
The agency recalled that on December 12, russia launched 15 "Shaheds" from the Balaklava district of Crimea. This is a new drone launch site south of Sevastopol.
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It is noted that since early September 2023, the russians have been using Cape Chauda in Crimea to launch "Shaheds". However, on December 5, the occupiers stated that they had allegedly intercepted 41 drones in the Crimea, in particular, near Cape Chauda.
Balaklava is the fifth officially confirmed launch site for the Shaheds. In addition to Cape Chauda, the sites are located in Yeysk (Krasnodar Krai), Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Krasnodar Krai) and Kursk
Addition
Intelligence officials believe that Russia will disperse its UAV launch capabilities across several locations to complicate the work of Ukrainian air defense.
In particular, russia is likely to use additional launch sites in response to Ukrainian drone attacks to force Kyiv to adapt to the new transit corridors of these systems.
To recap,
Kyiv forensic experts have recovered the wreckage of a Shahed drone used in the November 25 attack on Ukraine.
Preliminary analysis has shown that the drones are now black rather than light gray, possibly to avoid visual detection at night. Further research will be conducted on the paint and design features.