Ukrainian FP-1 Deep Strike-class attack drones, manufactured by Fire Point, have surpassed some cruise missiles in their characteristics, in particular the British Storm Shadow. They are capable of hitting targets at a distance of over 3,000 km, carrying a warhead comparable to a missile, but at the same time cost tens of times less. This was stated by the adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Serhiy Sternenko, reports UNN.
"The drones that Ukrainian companies are producing today, particularly at the Middle Strike and Deep Strike levels, have largely replaced missile weapons for us. And not all missiles can fly 3,000 km (…) If we talk about the Middle Strike segment, it currently includes such drones (…) there are drones that can have a warhead of up to 200 kg," - noted Sternenko in an interview with "Suspilne Novyny".
As an example, he cited the strike on the Omsk oil refinery in Siberia, which is located at a distance of over 2,500 km. Ukrainian forces hit it using modernized FP-1 attack drones.
After this strike, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that there is now no Russian oil refinery that Ukrainian weapons cannot reach. According to him, Russia has lost its territorial advantage - the deep rear.
Sternenko added that the economy of modern warfare is increasingly working in favor of unmanned systems. Sternenko cited the example of the British-French Storm Shadow missile, which costs about $2.5 million.
"If we take the mathematics of war, a missile, well, for example, the Storm Shadow with a maximum range of 500 km, if I'm not mistaken, costs from $2.5 million per unit. Ukrainian Deep Strike drones cost (…) for the price of one missile, you can buy 30-50 drones, depending on the cost per unit," – noted the adviser to the Minister of Defense.
According to him, it was the mass production of cheap drones that became one of the key factors that allowed Ukraine to systematically destroy Russian logistics.
"The use of Ukrainian drones that we observe today allows us to carry out unique operations, in particular, cutting Russian logistics through cheap mass production, that is, a cheap component base, mass production, and the availability of communication systems. We have a large number of drones that can be controlled, including in real-time, and deliver strikes not only on stationary objects but also on moving objects, which allows us to effectively work against enemy logistics, hitting logistics transport," – explained Sternenko.
At the same time, the capabilities of modern Ukrainian attack drones have already approached missile weapons not only in range but also in warhead power.
"There are drones that can have a warhead of up to 200 kg. 200 kg is a warhead comparable to a missile warhead. With these drones, we are now destroying bridges in the temporarily occupied territories," – added Sternenko.
For example, in June, the military, using, among others, FP-2 attack drones capable of carrying 200 kg of explosives over a distance of 350 km, struck key Crimean bridges. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the operation regarding Crimea is calculated and does not allow Russia to prolong the war.
Adviser to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko believes that it was the development of UAVs that allowed Ukraine to compensate for Russia's advantage in traditional types of weapons.
"Drones have become our asymmetric response to a many times stronger enemy, which had an advantage in all classical means and forces at the start of the full-scale invasion. But thanks to asymmetric responses and technological sophistication, as well as work with big data, we today largely maintain parity with this very strong enemy," – he noted.