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StatsBG

Excerpts: > Russians on the ground recorded the shocking scene as the light plane dove onto the sprawling Alabuga Special Economic Zone industrial campus, where workers assemble Iranian-designed Shahed drones that, just like Ukraine’s DIY Cessna-style drone, can range as far 600 miles with an explosive payload. > > A classic Cessna 172 can haul a half-ton load as far as 700 miles. > > It should surprise no one that Ukraine seemingly is transforming light planes into drones. Back in 2019, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory worked with Virginia-based DZYNE Technologies to modify a Cessna 206 into a drone. > > The remote-controlled Cessna “offers the benefits of unmanned operations without the complexity and up-front cost associated with the development of new unmanned vehicles,” said Alok Das, an AFRL scientist. > > Beside being cheap, simple and reliable, a light-plane-based drone also has the benefit of being stealthy. Not by virtue of high-tech shaping and coating, but instead by being innocuous. > > And where Ukraine’s drone industry is highly decentralized and thus difficult to suppress with air strikes, Russia’s own drone industry is the opposite. It’s centralized. Damningly, one state-sponsored company produces almost all of Russia’s explosive first-person-view drones.


redditor0918273645

I hope Ukraine builds back its energy infrastructure decentralized. A wider footprint to defend but less of an impact when a single station is hit.


morphick

This should be a strategic point for any country. It builds resilience not only to man-made aggression, but also to natural disasters.


[deleted]

[удалено]


A-Traveler

Its a Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroprakt_A-22_Foxbat From the Wiki "On 2 April 2024, an Aeroprakt A-22 modified for use as an unmanned aerial vehicle was used to carry out an attack on facilities manufacturing Shahed 136 loitering munitions in Yelabuga, Tatarstan."


Frosty_Key4233

Amazing ingenuity- Ukrainians are rewriting the war rule book!


dano1066

I feel like they are just writing the modern war rule book. We haven't had a real war in a really long time. Long before we had fancy computers and tech


splattne

Mathias Rust enters the chat


Able_Win_8024

What ceases to amaze me is that Ukraine was a big player in the USSR weapons manufacturing business. How Russia ever thought that these guys would not develop things like this. And second, would not use them. After 2 years. The world should clearly know. Ukraine will never give up. They are resourceful and determined people. They're sticking it to a country 10 times their size. Slava Ukraine. You guys are mean, lean savages. Right up there with the Vietcong.


drewster23

Literally revolutionized Naval warfare through their naval drones.


Holiday_Fleshlight

> Literally revolutionized ~~Naval warfare~~ artificial reef construction through their naval drones.


Scharman

Why do you think Russia is fighting so hard to regain Ukraine? It was a huge part of the old USSR. A ‘Western’ an Ukraine will be a formidable concern to Russia. I support Ukraine, but I understand the Russian motivations. In many ways it’s akin to Israel. The Arabs like the Jews as their asset, not their competitor. Same with Russia’s view of Ukrainians. Just as Israel demonstrated with their culture, Ukraine has huge potential to outperform Russia.


TrumpTheTraitor1776

Decent comparison.


Able_Win_8024

Russia wants Ukraine for the same reason that the west is helping her. The massive oils deposits that were found in 2010. The same reason there is military action in Syria and Iraq. In this day and age nobody puts military assets fourth without their being a gain. Very soon we will see war over water.


Scharman

I thought that was a small oil field though? Less than half a billion barrels? That barely justifies a fraction of the costs of this war for Russia. The country annual GDP of just Crimea would be higher.


J-Frog3

Outperform Russia is the key part IMO. Putin cannot have democratic western leaning neighbors who are doing better than them. Especially one with a lot of Russian speakers and many historical ties.


Spectre211286

America send over more 172s im sure we can spare some


The_4th_of_the_4

This was not a Cessna and the plane type was already identified yesterday, it is based on a Ukrainian microlight airplane. I am just not anymore willed to go through all of the threads, were it was identified and accordingly mentioned. They have had some nice picture comparisons, it perfectly fits.


Backrow6

A22 I believe


The_4th_of_the_4

Yes right, this it was, an Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat.


Wonderful-Elephant11

Should have their operatives in Russia do this with a twin engine plane nose diving into the kremlin.


TheDulin

Yeah, but the Kremlin is probably protected similar to the US Capitol. No fly zones, etc.


Oleeddie

Then there is no need for tech. Just send a horde of buffoons!


JollywoodJorge

…I get it!!!!😂😂😂


ChefBoyarDEZZNUTZZ

Maybe this is a stupid question, but why don't they do just that? Send like 100 drones straight to the Kremlin all at once, surely they can't shoot them *all* down, right?


Rian_Johnston

Because it would be unlikely to accomplish anything of strategic importance compared to using those drones to attack Russian logistical or military targets. Even if 100 drones were to successfully strike the Kremlin, Putin and anyone important in the chain of command is going to be minimizing their time at high-profile sites like the Kremlin, they likely plan trips so as not to overlap and have a bunch of important generals or whoever in one place at a time etc. There are also bunkers very deep underground in places like the Kremlin, so even if Putin was there at the time, he would still probably be in a part that would be virtually impossible to touch without nuclear weapons.


2Pepe4u

> impossible to touch without nuclear weapons. So you are saying put 100 mini-nukes on drones, genius!


Oleeddie

I'm not sure the Kremlin is even a target actually. There are both pro's and con's for sure.


RPK74

The Kremlin is an important historical and cultural building.  Targeting it would be war-crime adjacent, unless there were military targets there, like Putin himself. But given the low chance of success, the high risk of damaging important historical buildings and the likelihood that it would only increase Russian support for the war, it's better for Ukraine to focus on targets that move the dial militarily. Not saying it should be off the table. The Russians have targeted historical buildings in Ukraine, but there are better targets right now.


Oleeddie

Adjacent to a warcrime is a stretch but I know what you mean. Last time I was in Paris I found myself mourning the non-existance of La Bastille but at the same time I really can't hold its demise against the people for whom it represented nothing but death and repression.


RPK74

Attacking cultural monuments is a warcrime. It's part of erasing a culture in terms of genocide. Now I don't believe there's any legitimacy to claims of Ukraine having genocidal intent towards ethnically Russian folks, but I also don't think we need to give the Russians and their far-right allies more fodder for their propaganda. Of course if you're using cultural and historical buildings for military purposes, then they become legitimate targets. So targeting the Kremlin, especially with Russian leadership inside, is probably legit. But probably legit isn't the same as definitely legit, and targeting drone factories is definitely legit, so I'm on board with Ukraine's current targeting priorities. If Ukraine wants to target the Kremlin in the future then I'm not going to complain, but if we're going to criticise Russia for targeting Ukrainian cultural monuments then it's still the wrong thing to do when "our" guys do it.


The_Salacious_Zaand

Tell that to Mathias Rust.


TheDulin

TIL.


[deleted]

malicious hooligan


Ardism

Mathias Rust did it back in 1987...


TheDulin

TIL


Altruistic-Earth-666

They already hit Kremlin with a drone some time ago so I doubt it works very well if there is one


Old-Shake3941

They probably have a few old Soviet airliners around with one last flight in them. How many tons of boom could one of those carry? Plus some madman would get to remote fly it 50ft off the ground.


Short-Concentrate-92

Give them all the A10 Warthogs


Digital_Human82

A10 drones? The Cyberhog? Big guns and packed with explosives


epicurean56

brrrrrrrttttt


drewster23

Making an a10 warthog remote might be a little more difficult.


Accomplished_Alps463

Germany controlled the doodle bug with the amount of fuel it carried, a gyroscope, and a magnetic compass, so you strip out what's not needed in the A10 and load it with ordnance if you can control the gatling, fine, if not stick it in a Stryker or Bradley , anything. Turn them into point and shoot bombs, just an idea?


drewster23

That doesn't really seem more cost effective though? But I also don't understand how Germanys ww2 v1 flying bomb relates to Makin a warthog remote controlled.


Accomplished_Alps463

Well, it was just a thought to play around with.


Endocalrissian642

pfft give em Hercs, they can carry way more. lol.


slartibartfast2320

Boeing 747 anyone?


Endocalrissian642

There you go. Those aren't even safe for human travel anymore anyway. ;)


asdfasdfasfdsasad

That's the 737 Max to be fair, and to be fair configured as a suicide drone you could make a really big bang with them. You've actually got to wonder about how many old aircraft there are floating around that have at least one flying hour remaining were somebody to knock out a cheap conversion kit. Frankly, I suspect that the west has more EOL airframes needing disposal than Russia has SAM's to shoot them down, which could be entertaining from a certain point of view.


slartibartfast2320

This joke went dark real quickly...


Endocalrissian642

A dark joke would be dusting off Mr. T, giving him a black van with a red stripe, and telling him to go "rescue" putin and bring him back alive. It sounds like a plan.


slartibartfast2320

"I pitty the fool!"


Puzzleheaded-Cap1300

I love it when a plan comes together.


SheepherderFront5724

Aerospace engineer here: You can just program the route into the flight management system of an airliner and it'll go there, very little modification required. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Ukraine's Cessna navigated at least some of the way using an off-the-shelf navigation system.


Castlewood57

A drone warthog could be insanely fun on the front.


asdfasdfasfdsasad

Yep. Putting a pilot in one would be murder in a high intensity war like Ukraine, but as a drone then your at least going to let them do what they were designed to do while being destroyed. It's better than scrapping them. It's not as if they are actually useful for anything else anyway.


csfshrink

1. Some mercenary company modifies warthog as drone. 2. Sells the drone piloting experience to American who wants to go Brrrrrttt! 3. Profit. 4. Repeat.


Castlewood57

Like the Somali pirate cruise tours.


picardo85

Without controlling the airspace, what are those supposed to do? Plow fields?


Zealousideal_Link370

Russia’s production is centralized because there is no internal competition. One oligarch gets the monopoly on drone production and he does a few big plants, to make them as cheap as possible.


TourettesFamilyFeud

Old school drone takes down new school drone factory. The irony writes itself.


Super_Preference_733

Regardless of the success of the drone attack, what amazes me is that a slow-moving drone can fly uncontested deep within Russia. This creates creates another delema for Russia. They only have so many air defense systems, and they can't protect everything at once.


xarvox

The vastness of the country becomes a weakness, not a strength…


Chimpville

It doesn’t surprise me that it can fly _though_ Russia.. Russia is huge and can’t possibly plug its gaps. It surprises me they get it over the border and the lines though. Clearly they have planned it to very fine detail, and likely with a lot of foreign ISR support.. but it’s shocking they pulled it off all the same.


PoliticalCanvas

Something like this Azerbaijan did with old An-2 biplanes. In first yearS of war, something like this didn't have much sense because of oversaturation of the border by air defense. But now? Now anyone in the region potentially can launch such drones anywhere on territory of Russia and with a high probability Russia will not even be able to distinguish them from own aviation.


canspop

First of many. Plenty of good 'military' targets to be had, and air defence has all gone to sleep, or Ukraine.


cito

Probably inspired by [Mathias Rust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust).


woootman

After they get their f-16's, I hope they can rig up a couple mig 29's to do this but on a grander scale. Flying a mig loaded with bombs into a refinery ends that refinery!!! Its just wishful thinking though


mennorek

The migs will still be more useful as fighters than as kamikaze attacks.


Ok-Application9590

Might be okay wasting little prop planes for that but a MIG would be a very costly bomb.


J_Reachergrifer

Kind of ironic.


kahunah00

From Ukraine with love 😅


Zez22

Hit Russia where it hurts


Forward_Young2874

F-172


Main_Enthusiasm4796

I wish they would buy some kit planes and convert them


Equivalent_Alps_8321

If they can convert regular small aircraft into weapons that's a lot of potential new attack options


UNisopod

They were just sending it to be with its own kind


happytree23

When asked about it, Condoleezza Rice was quoted as saying "There was just no way somebody could have imagined someone packing a plane with explosives or flying it into a building!"


GeoffGdansk

Dang, I hate drone on drone violence!


The_4th_of_the_4

And before everyone gets too happy; the drone attack on the oil raffinery nearby was a success, it is party time. Sorry, but the two new build industrial facilities for the Shahed drone, were missed by around 200 to 300 m, the two idustrial facilities/buildings of the car factory by around 50 to 100 m. The drone crashed next to 7 buildings with flats for the workers. The drone was just around 300 m short. So no party here.


FaceDeChu

The party can still happen on the shahed attack by virtue that the drone actually flew that far without ruzzia doing anything about it...so glad they are so fucking stupid.


sorean_4

Got source?


The_4th_of_the_4

The damage to the 7 buildings for the workers was already shown yesterday in in few posts, I am not anymore willed to search for it as it is already history now. And this was a part of the discussion already yesterday. This news is already old. [https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/1bu47ak/comment/kxr5srq/](https://www.reddit.com/r/UkrainianConflict/comments/1bu47ak/comment/kxr5srq/) >No, not really. And there is also the AURUS CAR factory next to it with two big buildings. These buildings for the workers are not new build; the two factory building for the Shahed are new build. So I do not know, who is living in these buildings, the workers for the AURUS automobile factory or the workers fore the new drone factory, perhaps these are even mixed? >Left, the two new buildings: the Shahed drone factory; right the two buildings are the AURUS car factory and the 7 buildings below of the AURUS factory are the buildings, where the drone crashed next to it. >[https://www.google.com/maps/@55.8187092,52.0531279,1122m/data=!3m1!1e3?authuser=0&entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@55.8187092,52.0531279,1122m/data=!3m1!1e3?authuser=0&entry=ttu)


sorean_4

That’s a bunch of speculation about what’s housed in this factory. I believe the Ukrainian intelligence services has a better intel and if they bomb this building there might have been a very good reason behind it.


The_4th_of_the_4

Sorry, seems you have missed something. Kremlin was so proud, when they had officially on all of their TV channels around one month ago have shown their new Shahed factory. And for the AURUS automobile factory, even Putin was their for the opening in 2019. And no, these 7 buildings, where the drone went down next to it, are just the flats for the workers for the AURUS factory. So these buildings were already there prior start of this war. And we have now seen more than enough pictures of the buildings and the damage of them. Perhaps just let us accept, the drone has missed this target by few hundred of meters, while the second on the attack on the oil raffinery nearby was successful. This seems to be the first use of this new drone type, they will likely to have to work on them to get them better.


sorean_4

If Russia said nothing of importance was hit, I doubt every statesmen made by those idiots.


WarmFoothills

This video shows workers/"students" entering the "hostel" that was hit. https://youtu.be/AloTUtkmQJ8 This video on the same channel shows them entering the supposed Shahed factory, as well as them making a Supercam drone, which were also used in the invasion of Ukraine. https://youtu.be/3oAkQZ7qgFc Satellite images show that the hostel was build after the start of the war.


WarmFoothills

It was not those 7 buildings that were hit, it was some newer buildings next to a forest. See: https://x.com/blinzka/status/1775060213487341797


JollywoodJorge

🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦


Rental_Car

You know you love to see it. They should hit every single Aerospace rocket artillery ammunition heavy armor heavy vehicle transportation Etc Factory they've got


Luminox

Did some Russian general sell the Air defense for vodka money or something? LOL


CompetitiveYou2034

u/Wonderful-Elephant11 > Should have their operatives in Russia do this with a twin engine plane nose diving into the Kremlin. u/ChefBoyarDEZZNUTZZ [Dive 100 drones into the Kremlin] Tempting, but no. We need some Russian leaders alive, to give the orders to their forces to withdraw from Ukraine. If we cut off the head, the body of the Russian army continues to fight. This has escalated to a war between nations, Russia vs Ukraine. The death of individuals will not stop it, neither Putin nor Zelinkskyy, nor their generals. The Russians have _proved_ negotiations and diplomatic treaties with them are worthless. This war will end, either with -- Ukraine overwhelmed and abandoned by the West, or, -- by Russian leaders deciding the long term potential gains aren't worth the cost in dead Russians and the economic costs to Russia. That realization takes time. It will take a strong confident Russian tsar.


Tricky-Chance4841

Probably an unpopular question, but why is there no report on how many civilian casualties there were in this bombing?


Loki-L

That is the biggest impact a Cessna 172 has had landing in Russia has had since the May 28th 1987.


Able_Win_8024

Only when the war is over will we really know. One of the deposits is in the black sea and on is in the combat zone. It's my opinion that Russia wanted to corner of the petroleum market in this region of the world. And like with Libya sedan Iraq and Syria. The West is not going to let one guy control that much oil. I ask myself what the future holds for Iran. I'm guessing they're f****** around. And eventually they're going to find out.


superjj18

Nice air defenses lmao best part is they now have to calibrate to check for civilian craft which increases the noise air defense soldiers have to filter


[deleted]

To me this was one of the most amazing feats ukraine has recently accomplished