ZDF video shows explosion: what makes Iranian kamikaze drones so dangerous over Kyiv
Created: 2022-10-18 05:12
By: Patrick Mayer
Kamikaze drone from Iran?
This photo is supposed to show a "Shahed 136" just before the impact in Kyiv.
© Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
According to the West and Kyiv, Iranian kamikaze drones are also used in the Russian missile attacks.
Merkur.de explains the great danger behind it.
Munich/Kyiv/Teheran - Drone terror over Kyiv: During the Ukraine war, the metropolis of millions was attacked on Monday morning (October 17) by Russian invading troops using a number of kamikaze drones.
According to unconfirmed reports, at least 28 of these (“disposable”) drones are said to have been deployed in the metropolitan area of the Ukrainian capital.
Shaded 136: Will Russia Deploy Kamikaze Drone Over Kyiv?
ZDF video shows impact
Politically sensitive: According to the authorities in Kyiv, many of the kamikaze drones are said to have been produced in Iran.
This should be substantiated by photos from the AFP news agency and a video by a ZDF camera team shared by reporter Katrin Eigendorf on Twitter.
It is said to be the "Shahed 136" model, an unmanned combat drone that circles over a city and is then directed to a target.
Iran on Monday denied the use of these drones by the Russian army.
"The reports that Iran is supplying Russia with drones have political ambitions and are being circulated by Western sources," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.
No drones were made available to Russia for use in Ukraine.
The European Union (EU) still wants to act.
"We will look for concrete evidence of involvement," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, according to the Reuters news agency
at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
In the video: Compact - The most important news about the Russia-Ukraine war
The United States had already claimed in mid-July that the mullahs' regime in Tehran - which is currently facing violent protests in Iran following the death of the Kurd Mahsa Amini - was preparing to sell combat drones to Moscow.
Kamikaze drones from Iran in the Ukraine war?
The US and the EU are making accusations
"Our information shows that the Iranian government is preparing to quickly deploy several hundred unmanned aerial vehicles.
Among them are those that can transport weapons,” said US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, at the time.
On Monday morning, the mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, published a photo of the alleged remains of a drone in the Telegram news service.
The head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, also spoke of drone attacks.
The information cannot be independently verified.
also read
'Disheartening losses for Russia': Surprising tones from China
BND boss Kahl: Putin's actions are "declaration of war on the entire world"
Neither was the message from a Reuters reporter that a drone used in the airstrikes bore the inscription: "For Belgorod".
The governor of the Russian border town has accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the region.
But: what makes the Iranian kamikaze drones so dangerous?
Monday, October 17: A suspected Iranian drone strikes a residential area in Kyiv.
© Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP
Shaded 136: Kamikaze drone is a "lurking weapon"
According to the
Augsburger Allgemeine
, the "Shaded 136" can be classified as a so-called "loitering weapon", i.e. as a "lurking weapon".
This already describes the treacherous functionality of the kamikaze drone, which - as already mentioned - circles above its targets, only to suddenly plunge downwards, where it detonates on impact.
According to the report, the "Shaded 136" is a so-called delta wing aircraft that carries the warhead in the "nose" at the front.
It is noted that
Military Watch Magazine
calls the Shahed drone a hybrid of an unmanned aircraft and a cruise missile.
Because: A rocket supports the combat drone at the start, which transports the drone to its target area within a short time and extremely quickly.
Kamikaze drone Shaded 136: Ukrainian military probably shot down several copies
As the analysis of the
Augsburger Allgemeine
goes on to say, the shaded drones are said to be used in swarms because the Ukrainian military has repeatedly been able to take individual specimens out of the sky in recent weeks.
The swarm tactic is intended to complicate the task for the defenders.
According to Defense Express
editor-in-chief Oleg Katkov,
five to six Shahed drones are launched at a target area.
What also makes the kamikaze drones dangerous is the long range, the comparatively low cost and the ease of use.
Accordingly, the shaded aircraft can be fired from simple launch pads on trucks.
The piece should not cost more than 20,000 US dollars, according to the Iranian manufacturer Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, they can fly between 2000 and 2500 kilometers.
The launch can therefore theoretically also take place behind the border, from where the launch devices are safe from possible Ukrainian counterattacks.
This is also what makes the use of kamikaze drones so insidious.
Kamikaze drone Shaded 136: weight, range, altitude - the data
Kamikaze Drone Shaded 136 | |
Armament: | Warhead from 50 to 60 kilograms |
Range: | 2000 to 2500 kilometers |
flight altitude: | up to 4000 meters |
Speed: | up to 2000km/h |
Span: | estimated 2.5 meters |
Costs: | estimated 20,000 euros per copy |
The warheads are also said to weigh between 50 and 60 kilograms, which in turn is said to result in major destruction.
For example, the kamikaze drone from the ZDF video is said to have severely damaged a building in the middle of downtown Kiev, which is documented by photos from news agencies.
Use of kamikaze drone Shaded 136: Desperation of Moscow ruler Vladimir Putin?
Does your mission show the desperation of Moscow ruler Vladimir Putin and his attacking army in the Ukraine war?
In any case, they represent a great danger for the people in the metropolis of Kyiv, which has a population of 2.7 million.
This also applies to the other parts of the country, in a military conflict that just won't end.
(pm)