The war in Ukraine is probably the greatest laboratory in history for the use of military drones. We said in August that Ukraine had a powerful little ally “in its ranks” against Russian devices: Tsukorok, a small drone detector. On the other side, Russia has an unmanned aircraft unlike any other to “deceive” Ukraine. The name is a statement of intent: Parody, and they just “hunted” one.

Inside the story. “Parody” drones are a strategic tool that Russia has begun to use more frequently in air strikes against Ukraine. Unlike conventional attack drones that carry explosives, the “Parody” is a type of decoy drone specifically designed to deceive and saturate Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defenses, hence the name “stealth drones”.

Its main goal is to simulate the radar signal of Iranian Shahed-136 drones, which Russia regularly uses for real attacks, thereby confusing defense systems and forcing them to waste ammunition and resources on the wrong targets. They are small, seemingly cheap, make up about 50% of the UAVs Russia uses in its attacks, and have become a great strategy. Therefore, when Ukraine “hunted”, it did not hesitate to perform an “autopsy”.

Dismantling of Russian Parody drone

A surprise inside. Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) reported a few hours ago that after hunting down and opening a Parody, they discovered something they didn’t expect: These were Western-made parts inside the Russian fake drone used in the recent attack. The Ukrainian investigation found that they were owned by companies whose parts, such as microcontrollers, antennas and transceivers, were mostly located in the United States and the rest in Europe.

What is surprising, or not so surprising to many, is that this is happening precisely in the midst of international sanctions aimed at preventing Russia from acquiring foreign technology for its own war machine. Despite this, the Ukrainian military continues to find Western components in Russian weapons, including missiles and drones. Now Ukraine has documented all these findings on an official portal, where it also compiled a list of the names of many companies involved.

Attacks from other countries and reaction from Moldova. More data. HUR also reported that during a recent attack by 145 UAVs, approximately 62 UAVs were shot down, with others escaping to different areas and at least two crashing in neighboring non-NATO country Moldova.

In this context, Moldovan foreign minister Mihai Popșoi condemned the raids in an X publication, calling them dangerous for the public and a clear violation of Moldovan airspace.

Implications and adaptations in Ukrainian defense. Regarding the use of UAVs in war, the British Ministry of Defense stated in a recent report that Russia has increased the use of these attack UAVs in recent months and will probably continue the same strategy due to its increased capacity. producing.

One tactic that reinforces the need for Ukraine to adapt its defenses to counter both armed drones and decoys is to maintain high detection and destruction rates against an enemy seeking to confuse and weaken its defenses. Moreover, with the diversions of some Parodies (such as the violation of airspace by those coming to Moldova), it not only increases the tension in the region, but also underlines the threat these devices represent in terms of regional stability and complexity. from drone control systems, in this case Russian.

Image | Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

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