How are kamikaze drones being used by Russia and Ukraine?

Ukraine has accused Russia of using kamikaze drones against civilian targets in Kyiv.

They are believed to include Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones and have been used by Russia since mid-September.

The Shahed-136, which Russia calls Geranium-2, is a flying bomb.

It has a warhead filled with explosives and is designed to fly over a target until it is instructed to strike.

Explosives explode on impact, destroying the drone in the process.

The Shahed-136 has a wingspan of about 2.5m (8.2ft) and can be difficult to detect on radar.

Military expert Justin Crump told the BBC: “They fly low and you can send them in waves. These swarms of drones are much harder to defend against by air defenses.”

The Shahed-136 is also relatively cheap, around $20,000 (£17,800).

It’s not clear exactly how many Russia has, but the US says Iran plans to send hundreds to Russia. Iran has denied doing so.

There have been recent attacks on a Russian military base in Saky, west of Crimea, on an airbase near Sevastopol, and on Russian ships in the port of Sevastopol.

Dr Marina Miron, a researcher in defense studies at King’s College London, said: “If you look at the explosions during attacks, they’re pretty small.

“I suspect that these are homemade kamikaze drones, with explosives attached to them.”

Ukraine’s main military drone is the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2. It is about the size of a small plane, has an onboard camera and can be armed with laser-guided bombs.

Dr Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) said that at the start of the war, Ukraine had a fleet of “less than 50 ships”.

Russia also uses the “smaller, more basic” Orlan-10, which has a camera and can carry small bombs.

For both sides – Russia and Ukraine – the drones were effective in locating enemy targets and guiding artillery fire towards them.

“Russian forces can bring their guns against the enemy within three to five minutes after the Orlan-10 drone detects a target,” said Dr. Watling. Otherwise, an attack can take 20-30 minutes to execute.

Dr Marina Miron said that drones have allowed Ukraine to expand its limited forces.

“If you want to search past enemy positions, you’ll have to send in special forces units … and you might lose some troops,” she said. “Now, all you’re risking is a drone.”

During the first few weeks of the war, Ukraine’s Bayraktar drones were widely praised.

However, many Bayraktars were destroyed by Russian air defense systems because of their large size and slow movement.

Replacing military drones is expensive – a Bayraktar TB2 costs around $2m (£1.7m).

So both sides – especially Ukraine – also use small model, commercialsuch as the DJI Mavic 3, which costs around £1,700.

These commercial drones can be fitted with small bombs. However, they are mainly used to detect enemy troops and direct attacks.

Dr Miron said: “Ukraine does not have as much ammunition as Russia. “Having ‘eyes in the sky’ to detect targets and direct artillery fire means they can make better use of what they have.”

However, commercial drones are much less powerful than military aircraft.

The total flight distance of the DJI Mavic is only 30km and it can only fly for a maximum of 46 minutes.

Cheaper and smaller drones fly for less time and cover shorter distances.

Dr Miron said Russia uses radar defenses against military drones and electronic devices against commercial aircraft.

“Russian forces have Stupor rifles that fire electromagnetic pulses,” she said. This prevents commercial drones from being able to navigate using GPS, she explains.

These systems can cause the drone to crash or return to base and possibly prevent it from sending information back.