On June 1st, Ukrainian drones were launched from within Russia, targeting Russian air bases and eliminating a significant portion of the Russian fleet. Referred to as “Operation Spiderweb”, this marks one of Ukraine's most successful advances to date and demonstrates to Putin that although Ukraine may appear weak, it still poses a serious threat to Russia and its military.
The assault is reported to have destroyed approximately 40 of 100 Tupolev planes, mostly consisting of bombers similar to the American B-52. The attack took place from within semi-trucks that smuggled the drones into Russia, and each drone is reported to have cost approximately $400. The drones were then launched from inside the semi-trucks and targeted Russian air bases in both Siberia and Russia’s Far North. These air bases were so far inland from Ukraine that they were thought to be safe from any air-based attacks, as Russian anti-aircraft defenses would have likely intercepted anything launched from Ukrainian territory. However, Ukraine has now shown that distance is no longer a reliable shield in modern warfare, especially as drone warfare continues to evolve.
Since the start of the conflict, drone warfare has undergone a significant transformation. What began as simple surveillance missions has evolved into critical offensive attacks. The mass usage of drones has also led to significantly improved anti-aircraft and electronic warfare defenses. Tools like GPS jammers emit frequencies that disrupt the satellite-based navigation systems most drones use, and have become a vital part of Russia's defense against Ukrainian drones. As a way to get around this, Ukraine has turned to first-person-view drones that use live video feeds and manual operation rather than GPS. The image below shows a Ukrainian battlefield littered with fiber-optic lines, all left behind by these FPV drones. These types of drones use the cables to maintain a hardwired connection the entire time a drone is in flight and make them much less susceptible to GPS jamming.
