FOR MASSED FIRES BY RUSSIAN FORCES

LIMITATIONS OF UAV GUIDED TARGETING

CONTINUE

ARTILLERY Fire Strike Delivery

UPPER UAS Target Identification

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly seen a systematic approach by the Russians to acquire a target with a UAS. A high level UAS will identify a Ukrainian target.

Russian tactics in Ukraine [...] heavily feature their ability to correct indirect fires with certain types of their UAS. [Russian forces] will adjust their fire with the UAS based on the initial artillery strikes. The total time for this process can be as little as 10-15 minutes.

A command-and-control system [...] nets their input and delivers a strike order.

The sensor platforms [...] are often used at multiple altitudes over the same target with complimentary imaging. [The higher level UAS] will then pass off [the] target to another lower level UAS to determine the target coordinates.

FIXED TARGET Damage Assessment and Correction

COMMAND & CONTROL Strike Order Delivery

LOWER UAS Target Location

By emphasizing tactical/operational ranges, [Russian forces] are able to identify target complex, net multiple sensor inputs, and produce a mass strike with high-lethality area fires. An on-call ground-based delivery system [...] can produce strikes within short order.

15 MINUTES

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MOBILE TARGETS

Russian forces will compensate for difficulty in tracking and attacking mobile targets by attacking a fixed location through which a group of mobile targets are transiting (such as a bridge, defile or a road). Russians will adjust their fire with the UAS based on the initial artillery strikes.

Russian forces combine multiple sensing platforms into a real-time targeting system for massed, not precision, fire strikes. The Russian approach is to deliver rapid massed fires against a typical area target with an intensity and speed.

FIXED TARGETS

MASSED, NOT PRECISION FIRES

To date, the Russians have not fielded against Ukraine a predator-type armed drone, that combines real-time acquisition with direct engagement.

Russian UAV sensor platforms have difficulty in tracking and attacking mobile targets -- which is compensated to some extent by attacking a fixed location through which a group of mobile targets are transiting (such as a bridge, defile or a road).

NON-WEAPONIZED

Russian forces have need for pre-planning against fixed targets — although targets can be engaged quickly, there seems to be a considerable process measured in hours, even days, in setting up the conditions for the flight route assignment.

Russian UAVs procedures lack rapid reprogrammed routing — they do not appear to be able to respond rapidly to emerging (non-preplanned) routes.

PREPLANNING

REROUTING