Russians asking for help after swarming drone attacks
2018-01-15
[ATimes] Russia is seeking international assistance in its quest to determine the source of swarming drone attacks on two of its military bases in Syria.
The twin strikes represent the first time swarming drones have been used by terrorists against hardened targets, and judging from the excitement on the Russian side, they are clearly worried and upset. While denying that they lost any equipment in the strikes, it is hard to explain otherwise the level of alarm in Russia’s military.
The home-made drones that were used to attack Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria and the important Russian naval base in Tartus.
Has Tartus been mentioned before?
The drones themselves are simple. They use a small commercial gasoline two stroke engine that might be found in a weed whacker or used to power a bicycle. Structurally the drones are made out of wooden spars and styrofoam “boards” that are tied into the wooden structure with glue and plastic wrap.
Bingo! I thought they looked like weed wacker motors.
The drone itself is launched from some sort of simple rail platform and guided by two piece of wood on the drone with cutouts to protect the drone’s aerodynamic quality. The drones carry either eight or ten bomblets, each stuffed with the explosive PETN and the bomblets all have fuses that explode on contact. The bomblets are released by a solenoid that opens gaps in a sliding metal bar. The bomblets contain about 1 KG of PETN plus a string of epoxied ball bearings wrapped around the PETN explosive.
It appears the mission of the swarming drones was three-fold: it was to show the Russians that their bases are vulnerable to attack even if the terrorists are far off (the attack was launched about 50 km away originating in Idlib according to reports and the Russians have now destroyed a stockpile of drones there); that the Russian aircraft and missiles were vulnerable to a drone strike; and finally that the bomblets could be used to terrorize ground crews and military personnel on the Russian bases. Most of the focus was on Hmeimim Air Base where 10 drones were used in a swarming attack; another three drones struck the Tartus Naval Base.
The Russians claim that one of the drones carried a camera and had the ability to adjust the track of the other drones if needed. The drones themselves were guided by GPS and the flight path for each one was pre-programmed.
What especially disturbs the Russian analysts – and on this point they are still unable to identify the source – is that the drones were accurately programmed not only to reach the bases, but to hit specific targets that could not be attacked using standard GPS-generated maps or rely on GPS for accurate targeting.
Some sort of service more accurate then Google Maps used? A private one like DigitalGlobe or an actual Spy Satellite?
The single camera-equipped drone was there to help adjust the final target, indicating a fairly sophisticated command and control capability, something that clearly impressed the Russian General Staff. The drones also were programmed with accurate intelligence that was harmonized with GPS maps.
One master drone with a camera that can adjust the attacks of the other drones! Is this a high bandwidth (sat or cell) link back to an operator with the video or does the video feed into some sort of AI/pattern recognition system on the master drone? If the latter this is a very big deal. If it's a cellular or satellite link why isn't the service jammed near such sensitive targets? A modern cellphone would be excellent in the electronics package with software, GPS, altitude, tilt, compass, time, networking, camera(s), I/O(usually via USB or Bluetooth) and communications(WiFi & Cellular) in one light package. It would be interesting if the Russians showed the contents of the electronics package(s).
The Russians captured a number of the drones which they claim they were able to gain control over and crash land (the drones are not capable of landing in the normal sense). They were able to read out the directional plots and see that the programming was very accurate to locate targets. More than likely the targeting was aimed at parked Russian aircraft, since the bomblets would do very little damage to buildings. It is less sure the targeting included Russian air defense missiles, as these are of little or no interest to terrorist who don’t have an air force.
Bottom line: the accuracy of the mapping means that the drones were supported by a well-established military organization capable of spotting the targets and adjusting GPS maps to their exact location. Putting aside the fact that the drones may, or may not have achieved their objectives (whether you believe the Russians shot down or controlled most of them and did not suffer any losses, or alternatively the terrorist-leaks to the press where some seven Russian aircraft, including at least one Su-35 are claimed to have been destroyed) the accuracy of the drones is certainly the big issue and the Russians are almost certainly right that someone was helping the terrorists.
7 planes lost would be a big deal.
At first the Russians blamed the Turks. Next they blamed the Americans and pointed out that a US Navy Reconnaissance plane may have been involved. More recently the Russians are accusing the Ukrainians.
The crude but effective physical technology mixed with what appears to be complex electronics, software and communications is a very sophisticated project.
Posted by:3dc
#8 Pan Kozlowski you should know how Russians think - if it wasn't huge, they'd just preserve face.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru
2018-01-15 06:02
#7 ...I still say there was no 'swarm' attack. One or two drones might have gotten through and gotten a lucky hit (or given Soviet Russian explosives safety traditions, come down just about anywhere and set off an explosion)but something like this in something that small, not to mention the furious blame-everybody-in-range? Not buying it for a minute.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski
2018-01-15 05:57
#6 Way too sophisticated for Arabs. Or Turks.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru
2018-01-15 01:50
#5 Great source newc! Thanks!
Posted by: Alaska Paul
2018-01-15 01:19
#4 My guess is that the PETN is more like SEMTEX, which is a mixture of PETN, RDX, a plasticizer and an binder.
I can see a lot of use for a good smartphone in this application, as it has most of the features needed to perform this mission. I wonder how they got the coordinates of the planes---good gps and sneaking up with a laser to get an accurate fix, then maybe using image recognition.
The delivery vehicle is somewhat crude, but it works, and parts are common not to raise eyebrows when purchasing them.
I was thinking of some terrorist outfit that has been pounded by the Russians, buying the electronic packages, and paying some individual to do the engineering for a goodly price.
A very interesting integration of systems.
Posted by: Alaska Paul
2018-01-15 00:54
#3 Bellingcat has some pictures of these flying lawnmowers.
Posted by: newc
2018-01-15 00:53
#2 Time for Metalstorm!
Posted by: Skidmark
2018-01-15 00:40
#1 Somebody elsewhere commented that this solution would stop attacks like the above: Silent-Archer-Counter-UAS