UAV killers help Ukraine intercept Russian firepower
(Dan Tri) – An Australian defense company has developed a `killer drone` weapon that can help Ukraine deal with Russian attacks at low cost.
Ukrainian air defense system intercepts a Shahed drone in Kiev (Photo: AP).
According to manufacturer Electro Optic Systems, the Slinger 30mm light cannon can take down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a distance of 0.8km.
Australia’s ABC News reported that this weapon can be mounted on a truck and operated with a joystick and screen.
Ten such systems have been included in the aid package for Ukraine and will be available in Ukraine by the end of this year, according to ABC.
`This system is very easy to use. You don’t need to know much about technology. It’s not difficult to know how the system works,` said engineer Charlotte Capper.
Ukraine accuses Russia of regularly bombarding Ukrainian targets with suicide weapons such as Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.
Russia also ramped up drone production this fall and is expected to expand the scale of drone attacks in the future.
Ukraine regularly intercepts large numbers of Russian drones with the help of Western air defense systems, but this is a costly measure and beneficial to Russia.
Shooting down a drone (which costs between $20,000 and $30,000) can cost millions of dollars, depleting Ukraine’s resources even if the country stops attacking.
`Sometimes those missiles worth millions of dollars are used to shoot drones worth $20,000. It’s all a matter of cost,` said Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko.
However, the Slinger system can reduce that cost significantly.
Australian Defense Magazine reported that EOS is also developing a system to shoot down drones using lasers, called Titanis.
The conflict in Ukraine is showing the growing role of drones in modern wars.
The ability of both Russia and Ukraine to successfully acquire and operate UAVs is also increasing.
Meanwhile, some reports, including documents from the British Ministry of Defense, say that Moscow may be running out of supplies of Shahed-131 and 136 UAVs, and domestic military UAV production cannot keep up.