Ukraine's covert drone assault disrupts Russian air power
Ukrainians, through the operation "Cobweb," delivered a devastating blow to Russian strategic aviation. We present the behind-the-scenes details of an attack that will go down in history.
In the daring action carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), five Russian strategic bomber bases were attacked. These are crucial tools for the Russians in targeting important sites in Ukraine. Due to their very long range, they operate from airfields beyond the reach of Ukrainian drones. For instance, the Belaya base in the Irkutsk region is over 4,000 kilometres away from Kharkiv.
This did not stop the Ukrainians from employing an asymmetric approach that will be remembered as a successful intelligence operation, comparable to those conducted by the Israeli Mossad. Ukrainians claim they destroyed over 40 aircraft, but so far there have been two pieces of evidence showing the effects of the attack.
One is a drone recording during the attack on the Dealy airport near Olenegorsk, showing at least four Tu-95MS. The other is a satellite photo from the Belaya base in the Irkutsk region, showing hits on eight aircraft. These include at least four Tu-95MS, possibly three Tu-22M3, and one A-50. Confirmed losses from other airfields will likely be added over time.
Attack from within Russia — surprise is the key issue
Due to a lack of long-range weapons, Ukrainians must improvise by using asymmetric warfare methods. Mass-used drones are not very suitable for attacks on airfields, as even light aircraft with attached bombs are slow, easy to detect, and shoot down. Moreover, the airfield staff then know about the attack up to an hour in advance.
This gives plenty of time to evacuate or even tow aircraft to another location, which can save a damaged machine since these simple drones attack a pre-programmed point.
In the case of the Cobweb operation, Ukrainians used remotely controlled FPV drones smuggled earlier near air bases in transport containers. Ukrainian agents then used these drones, with a range of several kilometres, to attack the completely surprised Russians.
Remotely controlled drones also enable real-time response to developments and can, for instance, finish off a damaged aircraft or continuously adjust the attack to target the most valuable assets.
The drones used consist primarily of a frame, rotors with motors, control electronics with antennas, batteries, a camera, and a combat payload. Most likely, these were anti-tank or fragmentation bomblets.
The attack was probably prepared for at least a few months, if not over a year, and represents an evolution of the idea from August 2023, when Ukrainians launched an attack on an airport in Kursk using cardboard PPDS drones launched from within Russia.
