Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces Vadim Sukharevskiy believes that naval drones equipped with Stinger or Starstreak portable anti-aircraft missile systems would be effective in combating Russian aircraft.
Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces Vadim Sukharevskiy believes that naval drones equipped with Stinger or Starstreak portable anti-aircraft missile systems would be effective in combating Russian aircraft.
As Sukharevskiy told the Polish publication Defence24 in an interview, naval drones are already being transformed into full-fledged surface platforms, on which an even wider range of weapons can be installed in the future.
«For example, in the future, it would be advisable to install portable anti-aircraft missile systems FIM-92 Stinger, Starstreak, or large-caliber machine guns on such surface platforms, which would be quite effective against aircraft,» says the SBS commander.
The use of portable anti-aircraft missile systems will allow firing directly from the sea, using naval drones as platforms, which will eliminate the enemy’s air superiority and increase the survivability and effectiveness of the use of naval drones. According to Vadim Sukharevskiy, this should lead to Russia’s loss of maritime and air control over the Black and Azov Seas, which will play a key role in the operation to liberate the occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian military is already experimenting with weaponizing naval drones. In December, the Security Service of Ukraine showed footage of an operation it conducted on the night of December 5-6 in the Kerch Bay using Sea Babu naval drones. When the occupiers tried to intercept them, the Ukrainian drones suddenly opened fire in return and hit the Russian helicopters.
