MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. The Kiev regime’s recent attempted attacks on Russian military airfields involved Soviet Tu-141 Strizh jet drones upgraded by Ukrainian specialists, TASS military observer Viktor Litovkin said on Thursday.
The Kiev regime could have obtained over a hundred of such drones after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the expert said.
The US-based newspaper Politico earlier reported that the Ukrainian military had attempted to attack Russian military airfields employing modified Strizh drones made during the Soviet period. It further said that Ukraine had modified the drones itself without relying on any technologies from Western countries, including the United States.
"Ukraine upgraded Strizh drones for attacks on our airfields because all these UAVs were designed for gathering reconnaissance data but were used for a strike against the territory, i.e. the flight’s software was altered, explosives were installed and an upgrade was carried out," the military expert pointed out.
"Considering that Strizh drones were produced at the Kharkov aviation plant, they, of course, have people who can operate them and carry out their maintenance," Litovkin said.
The upgrade did not even require any assistance of specialists from NATO countries, the expert said.
In the expert’s opinion, the Ukrainian side can still possess quite a sufficient amount of these drones but this amount is in any case limited, he pointed out.
"This is all Soviet heritage and Ukraine is likely to possess over a hundred of drones. But, of course, they cannot already arrange their production," Litovkin said.
The Tu-141 Strizh is an operational-tactical reconnaissance drone engineered by the Tupolev Design Bureau. The drone was produced at the Kharkov aviation plant and was operational in the Soviet Army in 1979-1989.
Ukrainian drone attack on Russian military airfields
As Russia’s Defense Ministry reported earlier, Ukraine carried out an attack on the Russian military airfields of Dyagilevo in the Ryazan Region and Engels in the Saratov Region on December 5, employing Soviet-made jet drones. Russian air defense systems intercepted the drones flying at a low altitude but the fall and explosion of their fragments at the airfields damaged two long-range aircraft. Three Russian ground personnel members sustained fatal wounds and another four servicemen were delivered to medical institutions with injuries.
Kursk Region Governor Roman Starovoit reported the following day about a drone attack on an oil storage facility at the Kursk aerodrome, setting it ablaze. People were not hurt in the drone attack, he said.
Kiev did not officially claim responsibility for the drone attacks on the Russian airfields. However, a high-ranking Ukrainian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post on December 6 that the attacks "were carried out by Ukrainian drones.".