The airstrike against Ukraine has just entered the territory of high speed. This week, Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) reported that Russia has officially unleashed the so-called Geran-5 jet-powered attack drone that does not sound like a lawnmower as the older Shahed models do, but instead more closely resembles a cruise missile. Although Moscow has been hitting energy grids for a few months, this new equipment indicates that they are seriously considering bypassing the air defenses of Ukraine, which are becoming more efficient. You can forget that triangular shape of the flying wing you are accustomed to with Geran-2. This Geran-5 is much more similar to a conventional cruise missile or a small, slim airplane. It is a long 20-foot chassis with fixed wings, which is designed to be stable and fast, and not simply fly around a target. It has a Telefly turbojet engine, a Chinese-made part that provides it with much more thrust compared to the earlier models. However, it is not only louder, but much harder to shoot down using the mobile fire groups (the guys in pickup trucks with machine guns) that have become the primary defense of Ukraine against slower drones. Nevertheless, the brains of the drone are unexpectedly low-tech, with Raspberry Pi microcomputers (the same low-cost boards hobbyists build home projects with) found inside the wreckage, 3G/4G modems (consumer-grade and used to transmit data and potentially adjust flight paths), and the Kometa navigation system, a 12-channel satellite receiver that can withstand signal jamming. It is not only the speed that is the most worrisome aspect to Kyiv, but also its versatility. It is also reported that Russia desires to begin firing these items directly off of the Su-25 fighter jets. Should they extract that, the already amazing 600-mile range that the drone already has would soar. But the most remarkable fact concerning this drone is that it will carry R-73 air-to-air missiles. This will be a game-changer. Instead of becoming a one-way kamikaze bomber, the Geran-5 may start attacking Ukrainian helicopters and aircraft. This will resemble more of a low-cost robotic interceptor drone rather than a mere strike drone. Ukraine is already retaliating with its own drone interceptor, Salut, but even the number of such attacks is appalling, mwith ore than 1,000 drones attacked within the past week. The war is becoming a race to the top of cheap technology and the bottom of advanced defense as Russia becomes increasingly dependent on Iranian-inspired designs such as the Karrar. At this point, the Kremlin appears satisfied with these jet-powered geraniums to determine whether they can finally evade the Ukrainian net.
Russia escalates drone warfare with the high-speed Geran-5 over Ukraine
