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Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP; GUR; Business Insider
- Ukraine shared footage of what it claims was a cheap drone destroying Russian air defense equipment.
- It said the Russian system was worth $10 million, while the drone cost a few hundred dollars.
- Ukraine has used drones to take out advanced Russian military gear since the start of the war.
New footage shared by Ukraine shows the apparent destruction of a $10 million Russian air defense system using a cheap drone.
Ukraine’s military intelligence service, known as GUR, shared the video in an update on Sunday, and said soldiers in its Kryla special unit took out a Russian Osa antiaircraft missile complex.
The video shows footage that appears to be taken by the drone as it flies directly toward the complex, as well as aerial footage of military equipment on fire.
Ukrainian intelligence said the Osa complex was worth $10 million, while the drone that destroyed it cost several hundred dollars.
Drones have been used in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than in any other conflict in history, with both sides using them to attack and destroy targets, and to gather information to direct other weaponry.
Both countries use large and expensive military-grade drones as well as cheap drones that can be bought in stores and are often used by hobbyists or for filming events like weddings.
Ukraine, which has sometimes struggled to get advanced weaponry from its allies, has used them to take out weapons far more expensive than the drones themselves.
This includes reportedly taking out a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter, which is estimated to cost roughly $18 million.
Ukraine and Russia have drastically scaled up their domestic drone-making since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, and Ukraine, at the moment, appears to be winning the drone production race.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Ukraine’s defense companies can now produce 4 million drones a year.
Both sides have also relied heavily on their air-defense arsenals in ways that have deeply shaped the nature of the conflict.
Russia’s arsenal includes the 9K33 Osa — a mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air defense missile system that was first designed in the 1960s.
Russia and Ukraine had the two largest air defense arsenals in Europe before the full-scale invasion began, and their heavy use has resulted in a state of mutual air denial.
This has blunted the major advantage that Russia should have had by having a much larger and more modern air force.
But the development has come with big warnings for the West, as experts and former defense officials have said that Western countries don’t have big enough drone and air defense arsenals for a future conflict with Russia, which many countries fear may come in the next few years.
