File image.
The Russian military has for the first time used a jet-powered one-way attack drone carrying a “cumulative-cutting” payload designed to destroy high-voltage power transmission lines and steel bridge structures, according to Ukrainian military expert Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov.
“Bad news. Today, the enemy used a special cumulative-cutting payload on a jet-powered UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) for the first time,” Beskrestnov said in a Telegram post on September 30.
The new payload was developed specifically to destroy high-voltage transmission towers and steel bridge structures, according to Beskrestnov, who claimed that the payload consists of a 40-kilogram main warhead and four “impact modules”.
“I think the enemy plans to attack important high-voltage power transmission lines,” the expert added.
Beskrestnov was likely commenting on video footage that emerged earlier in the day showing a drone strike cutting the top of a high-voltage transmission tower somewhere in the Kyiv region.
Additional footage that emerged on October 1 showed what appeared to be a new version of the Geran-4 jet-powered one-way attack drone fitted with a rod-like structure extending from both sides of the airframe behind its nose.
The rod may be a linear shaped charge, a type of explosive device designed to cut through steel barriers and other metal structures. If that identification is correct, the configuration could be linked to the strikes on high-voltage transmission towers recently reported in the Kyiv region.
The Geran-4 is reported to be capable of speeds exceeding 500 kilometers per hour and a range of more than 850 kilometers. It is also equipped with an artificial intelligence-powered optical targeting system. Ukraine has been struggling to counter the drone.
The developments indicate a growing Russian effort to adapt one-way attack drones for more specialized strikes against Ukraine’s power grid.
Rather than limiting attacks to major generating facilities and substations, Russian forces could use the new payload to target transmission infrastructure itself, including the towers and lines that connect different parts of the grid.
The development comes ahead of winter, when damage to transmission infrastructure could further complicate Ukraine’s efforts to maintain a stable electricity supply.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
