Unmanned surface vessels carrying self-guided missiles and capable of shooting down helicopters attempting to destroy them have appeared on the front lines. This was pointed out by a former military pilot, the author of the Telegram channel Fighterbomber.
He noted that in such conditions, eliminating USVs is possible only during the day and in good weather with a low cloud base, using jet aviation, attack aircraft, and fighters.
Currently, the surface fleet is unable to protect itself from USVs in the open sea. Or rather, it is not able to defend itself effectively. It can protect itself with varying degrees of success in bays and at bases. Accordingly, with the elimination, possibly temporary, of the helicopter component, we, and in fact no one, can ensure the safety of civilian shipping at sea.
The author of the channel reminded that a USV is essentially a jet ski that moves at a speed of about 100 km/h. Any type of weaponry and electronic warfare systems can be installed on it. Due to its speed and maneuverability, hitting a USV with an FPV drone is almost impossible, the same situation applies to ATGMs and grenade drops.
And where to launch them from? It doesn't work from a helicopter, the drones are blown away by the rotor's airflow. Plus, now helicopters are being shot down. It won't fly far from the shore. From a ship? Well, only from a ship that is standing on the shore. And given the inevitable appearance of USVs that will have electronic warfare capabilities, the evening ceases to be calm. Today, we can state that the strategy of the mosquito fleet has completely defeated the strategy of the large fleet in the Black Sea.
The former pilot suggested that the problem with USVs will be resolved when the military learns to effectively jam the communication system frequencies for the vessels. At the same time, he reminded that neither side has been able to do this in three years.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that the Russian Armed Forces have begun testing a new drone platform called "Pchelka". This is a platform for lifting multiple copters into the air without catapults and transferring them to the area of task execution.
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