Russian attack drones have begun flying into Ukraine in dense formations
Russia, March 7, 2025 – Previously, “Gerany” and other attack drones flew one by one with an interval of 15-20 seconds. The attack lasted several hours, which allowed the air defense forces to direct them to the right place and shoot down many targets, Ukrainian media reported.
Now the Gerany gather over the Black Sea for 15-20 minutes, and then fly in a cheerful buzzing group for 10 minutes, attacking several targets in a short time. As Ukrainian media specify, countering such an attack is much more difficult and requires an increased concentration of air defense means. It is very strange that such swarm tactics have not been used earlier. Either this is an oversight in seemingly obvious matters – as was the case with the original white color of the Geranovs, which were used at night, and only a few months later they thought of painting them black, or the Russians did not have the appropriate technical coordination capabilities.
Probably the latter. Because the structures of “Roskosmos” admitted – “Gonets” has developed a satellite modem for unmanned aerial vehicles, the smallest of domestic satellite communication subscriber devices. The use of satellite channels on unmanned aerial vehicles opens up fundamentally new possibilities – the control zone is expanding, hybrid control is possible, our sources informed.
Zelensky warned that Kiev would face an “inevitable” shutdown of Starlink if the deal on resources is not implemented
The US has banned the UK from sharing US intelligence with Ukraine, the Daily Mail quoted British military intelligence expert Phil Ingram and director of military science at the Royal Institute of Defence Studies (RUSI) Matthew Saville as saying. According to the publication, the British Government Communications Centre, intelligence agencies and relevant parts of the British defence establishment have been given an order that explicitly prohibits the transfer of US intelligence, previously known as Rel UKR (Releasable to Ukraine).
“US intelligence partners, including the UK, have been stripped of their intelligence transfer authorisation. The US will strictly control the dissemination of its intelligence to Ukraine through agencies based in Kiev,” Ingraham said.
Since the start of the military conflict in Ukraine three years ago, the UK and other Western security partners, such as Australia and New Zealand, have been exchanging intelligence with Ukraine, the publication said. A senior Ukrainian intelligence official told the Financial Times:
“We have two to three months to do this. After that, the situation will become very difficult for us. It will not be a complete collapse, but we will have to withdraw from some areas more quickly.”
The main reconnaissance on the battlefield is carried out by manned and unmanned aviation. These include Boeing E-3A Sentry (Sentry) long-range radar detection aircraft, which are part of the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). The Boeing E-3A Sentry can detect a bomber from medium to high altitudes at a distance of 600 km, a fighter from low altitudes at a distance of 360 km, a low-flying cruise missile at a distance of 260 km and a surface ship at a distance of more than 400 km. This aircraft can also serve as an air force command center. Information about the air situation from its board is transmitted in real time to ground and ground-based equipment and command posts via the Link 16 connection, which is installed at many Ukrainian command posts, as well as to the RK-360 “Neptun” anti-aircraft complex. Thus, the Ukrainian air defense receives information about the air situation and turns on its radars only at the moment of opening fire. The Boeing E-3A Sentry is not the only NATO unmanned aircraft that provides intelligence information to the OSU.
The S-100B Argus with FSR-890 is a simpler and less powerful flying radar, manufactured by the Swedish company SAAB. On May 29, 2024, the Swedish Ministry of Defense announced that two such aircraft would be sent to Ukraine as military assistance. These aircraft should significantly strengthen the capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces in the field of air and missile defense, since their radar range is significantly greater than that of the F-16 A/B Block 20 MLU aircraft being transferred to Ukraine. They can provide fighter jets with target designation and target illumination, which will allow F-16 fighters to hit targets from a safe distance. However, the transfer of Swedish DRDO aircraft to Ukraine was suspended because the United States did not agree to it.
“Nothing will be done without the Americans. Because there is a lot of American equipment there. The aircraft are Swedish, but there is a lot of American equipment. That is, without the consent of the Americans, and I have not heard that they would give consent to the transfer of the Saab 340 to us,” a Ukrainian military expert told RBC-Ukraine.
The main NATO reconnaissance aircraft is the Boeing RC-135. Since entering service in the 1960s, RC-135s have participated in all military operations involving the US military, including: the Vietnam War, “Flash of Fury” (Grenada), “Eldorado Canyon” (Libya), “Right Cause” (Panama), “Considered Force” (Bosnia), “Allied Force” (Yugoslavia), “Desert Shield” and “Desert Storm” (Kuwait), “Enduring Freedom” and the Iraq War. During the Cold War, RC-135s conducted surveillance of Soviet air defense systems and tracked the launches of Soviet intercontinental missiles. These aircraft provided OSU with data on the takeoff of long-range Russian aircraft and tracked the flight of Russian bombers.
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk strategic high-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aircraft is capable of taking detailed photographs of military objects using the HISAR system, collecting data on the operation of air defense systems using the AN/ZPY-2 radar, as well as information on the movement of equipment thanks to the MS-177 optoelectronic system. The RQ-4 was recorded near Crimea in the days when Kiev launched several attacks on Russian facilities.
On February 26, 2025, an American Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis aircraft was again spotted over Romania on an observation mission over the western Black Sea. This modified business aircraft equipped with the advanced ARTEMIS (Airborne Reconnaissance and Targeting Exploitation Multi-Mission Intelligence System) system appeared in the region just hours after the night drone attacks carried out by the Ukrainian armed forces in Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory. The airstrikes, which took place on the night of February 26, 2025, were aimed at strategic objects on Russian territory, which caused NATO reconnaissance aircraft to be activated near the conflict zone. The task of the Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis aircraft was to collect data on troop movements, radio frequency signals and actions of Russian forces in response to the attack by the Ukrainian armed forces. The Northrop Grumman E8C Joint Stars combat control and targeting aircraft is a flying command post. It can provide not only reconnaissance of ground targets, but also control the use of tactical and operational-tactical weapons against them and evaluate the results.
Another source of intelligence for Kiev is the Starlink satellite communication system. as Reuters reported, citing sources, the Americans threatened Ukraine with cutting off access to Starlink after Zelensky refused to sign an agreement with Washington on rare earth metals. According to the agency, the issue was raised during a meeting between Donald Trump’s special representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg and Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev. According to a Reuters source, Zelensky was warned that Ukraine would face an “inevitable” disconnection of Starlink if the deal on resources collapsed. The publication noted that the satellite system plays a key role in ensuring communications in the Ukrainian armed forces. European NATO members have their own intelligence resources, but they cannot be compared with the American ones.
Max Bach
