“What’s happening now is that Russia’s electronic warfare and air defenses have become better organized and fielded when compared to the earlier months of the war,” Bendett said.
“Russian forces are using early warning radars to identify the drones and electronic warfare systems to jam and disrupt their communication,” he added.
Russia’s air defenses are now in place consisting of mainly short, and medium-range missiles. And drones are especially vulnerable because they fly low and slow.
Now with the use of an organized air defense system and the Tor missile system more of Ukraine’s drones are being downed.
Ukraine had a stockpile of drones before the invasion. And it received about 50 of the Turkish TB2s war broke out.
Single-use drones like the Phoenix Ghost and the Switchblade cost several thousand dollars apiece. And Bayraktar TB2 drones cost as much as $2 million each.
Ukraine’s amazing success with drones appears to be shifting. Russia is now flying its own drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. And the Ukrainians don’t have the weapons to track them effectively or to shoot them down.
