Russia has built a large-scale facility for launching jet-powered drones in the Rostov region near Ukraine in just six weeks. According to Reuters, the base will have at least eight launch sites and is intended, among other things, to launch Russia’s latest Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones, UNN writes.
Details
According to commercial satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs and Airbus, a site in the Rostov region in southwestern Russia that was an empty field on August 31 had by Wednesday been transformed into a large complex covering approximately 126 football fields.
The construction coincided with an increase in Russia’s use of jet-powered attack drones against Ukraine, which is finding it increasingly difficult to intercept the faster aircraft capable of reaching speeds of up to 600 km/h.
The full-scale war has been ongoing for a fifth year, and Kyiv expects Russia to further intensify its attacks with jet-powered drones and missiles this winter.
Mike Monnik, the founder and CEO of the private intelligence company DroneSec, said that the facility shown in the satellite imagery could be used to launch the Geran-4 and Geran-5 models — Russia’s newest jet-powered drones.
According to Monnik, eight sites with launch rails capable of launching such drones can be seen on the western edge of the complex. This would supplement Russia’s existing network of at least 11 fixed launch sites used for attacks on Ukraine.
The speed of construction … demonstrates how easily Russia can rapidly deploy already-established offensive capabilities
According to him, the facility appears to be almost complete, and it will probably take several weeks, if not less, before it is fully operational.
It covers an area of approximately 0.9 square kilometers and is located about 3.5 km from Russia’s Millerovo air base, home to the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.
According to DroneSec’s assessment, the new site is likely within the coverage zone of air defenses provided by systems at the air base. This makes Ukraine’s attempts to strike the new facility more difficult.
Reuters’ analysis indicates that launch rails have already been installed at two of the eight launch sites. Construction of the rails was ongoing at two more sites. Other construction work could also be observed from satellites over three days this week.
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