The Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate (GUR) announced that a Russian jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) heading towards the Black Sea city of Odessa was shot down by air defense systems. According to GUR, the downed aircraft may have been a Dan-M target drone modernized by Russia for offensive operations. However, some sources claim that the downed system was a jet-powered kamikaze UAV developed by Iran.
Drop Time and System Details
GUR shared a 34-second video on Telegram showing not the direct hit, but the missile being launched and then exploding into the water. According to The War Zone, this incident suggests that Russia is beginning to use target drones as low-cost cruise missiles or high-speed decoys to fool air defense systems.
Gur Sözcüwater Andrii Yusov, the system in question, R-73 air-to-air missiles It was shot down by a mobile system equipped with the missiles. It is known that these missiles are used in Ukraine's Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets, as well as in some improvised air defense systems and UAVs.
Dan-M: Alleged Transformation from Target Drone to Cruise Missile
Dan-M is a target drone developed by Russia to test air defense systems. However, according to GUR, this system has been modified by Russia for offensive missions, making it capable of launching cruise missile-like attacks against coordinate-based targets.
Ukrainian electronic warfare expert Serhii “Flash” BeskrestnovAccording to Dan-M, approximately 5,5 kilometers altitude can come out, It can stay in the air for 25 to 40 minutes. ve Speeds of 400-750 km/h With these features, Dan-M Range of 300 to 400 kilometers It is estimated that it can reach. In the news made by TWZ, it is stated that a warhead may have been placed in the parachute compartment of the target aircraft and that this warhead may weigh up to several dozen kilograms.
Some experts say the move shows that Russia is looking for flexible and economical solutions on the battlefield. Beskrestnov says such conversions would only make sense if Russia had a large stock of Dan-Ms. Otherwise, converting a UAV with little production capacity could be a waste of time and resources.
But there is another possibility: “Saturation tactic” for Ukrainian air defenses A retired Russian Navy officer wrote on Telegram that similar systems could be used to engage Ukrainian air defenses and allow more expensive cruise missiles to reach their targets.
The Alleged Iranian Connection and the Importance of Wreckage Information
Ukrainian defense press Defense Express reported that the UAV used in this incident was actually Iranian-made Karrar UAV suggests that it could be. In this context, the Dan-M and Karrar are strikingly similar in terms of visual similarity. This jet-powered UAV of Iran is also known with its variants such as the Shahed-238, which is currently used by Russia. The use of the Karrar may indicate Russia's continued dependence on Iran. Therefore, information obtained from the wreckage of the downed UAV will provide critical clues about the UAV's origin and capabilities.
