The kamikaze or suicide drones, officially named Shahed-136 drones have played an increasingly deadly role in the ongoing war.
In its latest flurry of attacks on Ukraine, Russia used kamikaze drones to hit parts of the capital region Kyiv this week. As per reports, the special kind of drones are Iranian-made. Two floors of a five-story apartment building in the city of Mykolaiv were completely destroyed in a single strike while the rest of the building was left in rubble, city’s Mayor Oleksandr Sienkovych said.
Kyiv was hit at least 4 times on Monday in massive strikes which killed at least 19 people and injured over 100 across Ukraine. The kamikaze drones, officially named Shahed-136 drones have played an increasingly deadly role in the ongoing war.
What are Kamikaze drones?
Russia used the kamikaze drone for the first time against Ukraine in the recent attacks. | Photo: IANS
Also known as suicide drones, the kamikaze drones are a type of weapon which is called a loitering munition. This means that the weapon loiters or waits passively around the target for some time and then attacks upon locating it.
They are more effective in targeting concealed or hidden targets that emerge for short periods with their quicker reaction time. The high-value launch platforms do not need to be placed close to the target. As the attack can easily be aborted if needed, they allow more selective targeting.
Kamikaze drones share characteristics with both unmanned combat vehicles (UCAVs) and cruise missiles. However, unlike cruise missiles they do not need to hit the target directly and can hover around it for a long time. It differed from UCAVs as the drone itself is sacrificed in the attack as the warhead is built in it.
The type of weapon first emerged in the 1980s in a response to surface-to-air missiles. Its usage expanded to long-range strikes and tactical fire support later. The particular type of kamikaze drones used by Russia are called Shahed 136 and developed by Iranian company HESA. Russia designates them as Geran-2. Multiple Shahed 136 drones (in batches of 5 or more) are launched from a ready launch rack.
The weapon is designed to evade air defences while taking ground targets by surprise. Apart from the Russia-Ukraine war where it is actively in use since last month, the specific type of kamikaze drones were reportedly used by the Houthis in the Yemeni Civil War during 2020.
The kind of weapons have raised moral, ethical, and humanitarian concerns due to the capability of autonomous attack decisions as in such circumstances attacks that can potentially kill people are not under actual decision-making by human beings.
In order to help Ukraine defend against such attacks, allies US and UK plan to provide NASAM anti-aircraft systems and missiles in the coming weeks, apart from hundreds of additional aerial drones to gather information and provide logistics support.
(With inputs from agencies)
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