Jet attack drones "Geran-5" and "Geran-4" have changed the very approach to organizing air defense. Mobile fire groups, which previously seemed like a reliable barrier, are now completely "disconnected" from combat operations, explained military journalist Roman Saponkov.
According to him, countering the new "Geraniums" requires either full-fledged air defense systems or man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems like handheld "Igla".
This is a mass-produced jet drone, relatively fast-flying, which small arms air defense cannot intercept with heavy machine guns.
At the same time, Saponkov clarified that working on "Geraniums" with the aforementioned stationary air defense is extremely expensive, as the "Geraniums" themselves are 10 times cheaper than the missiles launched at them.
A solution has also been found against stationary air defense — "Geraniums" have begun to actively maneuver and sharply change their flight direction. Drones are even capable of making a 90-degree turn and heading to the target along a new trajectory.
According to available data, "Geran-5" is capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 1000 km. The drone is equipped with a jet engine, develops a speed of more than 350 km/h, and uses machine vision algorithms for targeting.