Since August 2024, along with Shahed-136 drones, the Russians have started launching the first Herbera and Parody decoy drones and their analogs deep into Ukraine, aiming to distract air defense systems.
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko from the Information Resistance group shared this in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform.
“Decoy drones are cheap and practically made of plastic or foam. The occupiers install makeshift ‘Luneburg lenses’ on them, which mimic the appearance of kamikaze drones like the Shahed-136. Until a drone is shot down, especially at night, it’s hard to tell if it’s a Shahed or a decoy. This has led to a situation where up to 2,000 drones are launched into Ukraine each month, as was the case in October. And among these 2,000 drones, statistics include not only kamikazes but also decoys, which are difficult to identify promptly,” the expert noted.
He stated that, with some certainty, we can say that during recent attacks, more decoy drones were used than Shahed-136 drones.
Decoy drones draw attention, disperse our air defense resources, and force them to use significantly more ammunition. Additionally, these drones have reconnaissance capabilities. Thanks to their large numbers, the enemy manages to locate the positions of fire teams, anti-aircraft missile systems, radar stations, and other assets,” Kovalenko emphasized.
As reported by Ukrinform, in the past three months, Russia has used 4,300 strike drones of the Shahed type and other types against Ukraine. The Ukrainian Defense Forces’ air defense units have managed to shoot down 3,063 UAVs, which represents 71% of the total.
Source: Enemy now using more decoy drones than Shaheds – expert
