Ukraine has unveiled a new long-range weapon that combines drone and missile technology that Kiev believes will significantly strengthen its ability to counter Russian military attacks.
Dubbed Paryanitsiya, the “rocket drone” has a range of 700 km, putting some 250 Russian military targets within reach, according to Ukrainian propaganda materials, and could open up new dimensions to aerial warfare.
Ukraine believes this new drone technology is necessary to counter recent Russian advances, as its allies still place restrictions on the use of long-range weapons in occupied Ukrainian territory, but not inside Russia. Because the new rocket drones are not supplied by Ukraine's allies, they do not have to adhere to these restrictions.
Drone technology has played a vital role throughout the war, and the Kremlin's ability to use them to devastating effect has been made clear in recent days, demonstrating the need for a new approach in Ukraine.
Russia launched 109 Iranian-made Shahed drones and 127 missiles on August 26 in an attempt to cripple Ukraine's power grid. Attacks were carried out in at least 15 regions of Ukraine, causing power outages and water shortages across the country.
At least five people were killed and 30 injured. The following day, Russia launched new drone attacks targeting critical infrastructure and civilians.
Both Russia and Ukraine use one-way attack (OWA) drones. Unlike most armed drones, which drop one or more bombs and return to their deployers for use again, one-way attack drones (also known as kamikaze drones) fly toward a target and explode on or above it, destroying the drone in the process. The long-range models used by both countries typically resemble small planes with a wingspan of less than 10 meters.
A Ukrainian OWA drone attacked a Russian airbase in Volgograd on August 22, causing a large fire and a secondary explosion from munitions stored at the base. Ukraine has been using long-range drones to target Russian airbases, industrial areas, and oil infrastructure for months.
Russian authorities have also scrambled to respond to the drone attacks, installing additional air defense systems around President Vladimir Putin's private residence and casting nets around oil refineries to capture incoming drones.
Why are OWA drones so important?
Militaries have been using drones for decades, but OWA drones are becoming a particular threat. As a recent study noted, OWA drones can use inexpensive navigation systems to strike targets hundreds of kilometers away with relative precision.
While they typically have smaller warheads and travel slower than conventional missiles, they are simpler and cheaper to mass-produce, meaning countries (and militant groups) that previously struggled to build and maintain missile fleets can now access weapons with exceptional range and accuracy.
Both Ukraine and Russia began deploying OWA drones in the summer of 2022. Russia's first major drone attack was in October 2022, but Ukraine had been using drones prior to that.
In June 2022, an improvised OWA drone, likely made by modifying a commercially available drone purchased online, attacked an oil refinery in Rostov, Russia, causing significant damage.
Creating an advantage
By late 2023, Russia's drone usage was significantly ahead of Ukraine's. Russia's advantage was its ability to import Shahed drones from Iran and later produce them under license in its own factories.
In 2023, Russia launched thousands of drones at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, including electrical substations and grain silos. The drones and Russian missiles prompted Kiev to call on its allies for air defense support, and it adopted innovative methods, such as acoustic sensors, to shoot down drones without running out of ammunition. Ukrainian companies were also developing their own OWA drones to fight back.
To get around restrictions on how weapons supplied by its allies can be used on Russian soil, Ukraine has had to rely on drones it makes itself or buys from private contractors, which often target Russia's defense and oil sectors.
In late 2023, Ukraine launched an ambitious drone campaign aimed at attacking oil facilities (a huge source of revenue for Russia), airfields (which house aircraft and munitions to be used against Ukraine), and even factories where Russia produces drones.
OWA drones are easier to manufacture and proliferate than missiles and are becoming more widely used. The UK has had to deal with them twice: in 2024, when they defended ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, and in April, when they helped blunt Iranian drone and missile attacks against Israel.
US military facilities across the Middle East have also come under attack from OWA drones launched by extremist groups, and even a highly advanced military would face similar challenges to those faced by Russia and Ukraine, including the endless supply of air defense missiles to shoot down large numbers of drones.
In March, the Royal Navy used Sea Ceptor missiles to intercept a Houthi drone, but the missiles are much more expensive than the drones they intercepted and are desperately needed to intercept other threats like Houthi missiles.
For militaries around the world, advances in OWA drones and other drone technology mean rising air defense costs, forcing them to invest in more types of counter-drone systems while maintaining existing air defenses to defeat traditional threats like enemy aircraft.
Anti-drone defense systems (such as lasers) may not be effective against missiles, so a multi-layered air defense system is needed to ensure that any kind of threat can be defeated before it reaches its target.
Britain, for example, is in the midst of a review of its air and missile defences in light of how Russia and Ukraine are using drones and other stand-off weapons.
Drones and drone technology are and will continue to change the rules of warfare in Ukraine and around the world, and militaries around the world are already struggling to keep up.
Marcel Plichta is a PhD student in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
