Long Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Ukraine-Russia Armed Conflict 

The Ukrainian army, using such UAVs, will be able to attack targets at a considerable distance from the territory of Ukraine. In particular, it was reported that there was a possibility of attacks on the territory of the Murmansk region of Russia, where a large number of military facilities of the Russian Armed Forces are located. According to the media, it is from Murmansk airfields that strategic bombers take off and take part in bombing attacks on Ukraine. In addition, one of the interlocutors of German correspondents expressed the opinion that missile strikes are a thing of the past, while the future lies with UAVs.

It is important to understand why this information has come to light and why there is such a focus on long-range UAVs.

1. The collective West is not yet supplying large quantities of missiles with a range of several hundred kilometers, much less missiles of short (500-1000 km) and medium range (1000-5500 km). Such deliveries would very likely lead to a regional war – Ukraine-NATO with Russia, with the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs).

“Only demonstrative TNW strikes can in this case ensure de-escalation of the armed conflict in Europe. Of course, the use of TNWs could lead to a global nuclear war. However, such escalation is unacceptable for the US. Preventing a world war is a red line not only for Russia, but also for the United States.”

By supplying long-range UAVs, the collective West is trying to avoid a regional war with direct involvement of NATO countries and to continue the Ukraine-Russia war to ensure the depletion of Russia’s resources necessary to achieve the goals of the special military operation. The armed conflict in Ukraine is part of the hybrid war being waged by the US against Russia.

Hybrid war is a geopolitical struggle (confrontation) of states in the system of interconnected geopolitical spaces, in which geopolitical subjects form their policies and conduct practical activities to develop (seize) spaces and control them in order to ensure their national interests, or search for an optimal place in them, when active actions are impossible or inexpedient. Hybrid war is the most acute phase of geopolitical confrontation in modern conditions, which necessarily involves indirect and direct military violence. For the U.S., “hybrid warfare is a tool for solving geopolitical problems, eliminating (downgrading) existing threats, and eliminating incipient threats.” Hybrid warfare is one of the tools that ensure US leadership in the international community, as well as active influence on the formation of the world order of the 21st century.

2. The USA and NATO countries have formed Ukraine as a terrorist state within the structural framework of international terrorism.

“International terrorism in the XXI century is one of the most dangerous phenomena, which carries an increasing threat to the security of the individual, society and the state against the background of economic, political, religious and spiritual instability in various regions of the world”.

For Ukraine, long-range UAVs are the ideal weapon for committing terrorist acts on Russian territory. The purpose of these terrorist strikes is to kill peaceful civilians, and to destroy the social, energy and military facilities of the Russian Federation. In this case, it is clear that the U.S. and NATO countries are direct sponsors and technical accomplices of terrorist acts by supplying long-range UAVs.

An important feature of modern terrorism is that it has become a serious factor in the initiation and formation of hotbeds of military danger, and the militarization of a number of regions of the world. Previously, there was a more definite line of demarcation between armed conflict and terrorism. Now, through the efforts and endeavors of terror ideologists and practitioners (in particular, the United States and UK), the distinction is becoming harder to establish. There is a kind of mixing and substitution of the causes and goals of terrorist acts and armed conflict.

Currently, there is a threat of nuclear terrorism from Ukraine towards Russia, and the level of this threat is quite high. This is clearly demonstrated by Ukraine use of conventional weapons to make repeated attacks on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (currently controlled by Russia).

“Nuclear terrorism (in the narrow sense) is the use or threat of use of a nuclear explosive device of any type by an individual or group of individuals for terrorist purposes. Nuclear terrorism (in the broad sense) is a socio-political phenomenon, which is a confrontation of political subjects through violence or threat of violence, carried out with the help of nuclear explosive devices, radioactive materials and impacts on nuclear facilities by individuals or terrorist organizations in peacetime.”

3. Long-range UAVs cannot be used without geodetic, navigational and meteorological support, as well as intelligence and target designation. Such information support allows direct control of long-range UAVs, or the generation of input data for autonomous onboard control systems, as well as planning for terrorist attacks. It follows that the United States, by providing informational support for Ukrainian long-range UAVs, participates in terrorist acts on Russian territory.

4. The conclusion of some Western experts that missiles are the past and UAVs are the future is controversial. Such a message is made for Ukraine to justify the lack of supplies of short- and medium-range missiles. Long-range strike UAVs will not be able to fundamentally affect the level of even crisis strategic stability. But short-range missiles, medium-range missiles and strategic missiles (over 5,500 kilometers), which may have nuclear warheads, directly affect the level of strategic stability and the geopolitical situation.

5. Within the framework of Ukraine’s use of long-range UAVs, the United States is practicing informational support for its strike capabilities, which are planned to be used in a possible preventive (pre-emptive) global strike against Russia. The armed conflict in Ukraine is a testing ground for NATO countries to practice new means of defeat, information and control systems, communication and target designation systems. Thanks to the creation of a unified information and control space, information superiority (information dominance) on the battlefield is achieved, which makes it possible to realize the combat potential of groups of troops (forces) many times more effectively during military operations. It becomes possible to pre-empt the enemy at all stages of preparation and conduct of combat operations. The opposing side may be deprived of the opportunity to make adequate retaliatory actions and, ultimately, may be completely demoralized.

Ukraine is a training ground that provides for the development of tactics of U.S. and NATO armed units and their interaction in offensive and defensive operations.

6. By striking deep inside Russia with long-range UAVs, Ukraine wants to destabilize the internal situation in the country, cause discontent with the state authorities, undermine the state economy, and affect the moral and psychological climate in the country. Such strikes according to US experts can be a catalyst for a “color revolution” in Russia.

“Color revolution is a process of preparation and change of the ruling regime of the state through non-violent protests of citizens with the support and in the interests of opposition homegrown elites, as well as an external international actor. Color revolution creates an illusion of legitimacy of decisions and actions taken under pressure from the crowd, and also masks the forceful illegal activities of foreign residents and betrayal of the national interests of the state by elitist groups”.

In conclusion, it should be noted that long-range UAVs are atypical targets for the traditional air defense of Russian objects – small, low-flying, with low radar visibility and low thermal radiation. The tactical and technical characteristics and methods of use of long-range UAVs allow them to penetrate the territory of Russia at a distance of 1,000-2,000 km from the border. They move at low speeds, at low altitudes (50 – 75 m), so they are often invisible to long-range detection radar systems and, accordingly, can hardly be hit by zonal air defense systems (like S-300).

Russia needs a new air defense structure and supplies, in the necessary quantities, to provide new means of defeating air targets. For example, long-range UAVs are an accessible target for Pantsir air defense systems. The gradual saturation coverage of varied air defense systems that can destroy a range of different weapons is already having an effect. Electronic warfare provides another means of functional defeat, in addition to special small arms and specialized UAV-interceptors. The equipping of dozens of potential targets with UAV interceptors is also a realistic task. Acoustic airspace control systems can be used to detect long-range enemy UAVs at a distance of several kilometers. With the help of such special systems, it is possible, at a minimum, to warn the defense forces of objects in advance of a possible strike by long-range UAVs.