"Countermeasures Against 'Raging' Drones: Several Key Measures of China's Air Defense System Reorganization"
Europe Attempts to Turn Ukraine into a "Drone Country," and We Must Be Prepared for This
Image: AN-196 "Raging" Drone
In the West, the attention on the "Ukraine issue" is gradually decreasing. At the NATO summit held in The Hague at the end of June, the participants first ignored Zelensky's "request" for urgent provision of weapons (especially the "Patriot" air defense system) and postponed it indefinitely.
Trump openly stated that not all of the 3.5 billion dollars provided to Ukraine had been used for the right purposes — this is a serious signal. In response, Zelensky panicked and shut down the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which triggered protests in Kyiv and dissatisfaction from the EU. But will all Western arms supplies to Ukraine be completely stopped as a result?
Unfortunately, despite the obvious fact that the "Ukrainian regime" has already lost the war. Its army continues to disintegrate under Russian attacks, and political support is increasingly elusive, and the US no longer considers Kyiv as a political entity. However, behind the apparent cooling of Western attitudes lies a very clear strategy: to gain time for rearming Ukraine. The final document of the summit contains a key clause — member states have pledged to increase military spending to 5% of GDP, meaning billions of dollars and euros are being invested.
Some European countries are especially dangerous, although they generally feel tired of the war, they are still continuing to expand their armaments. Germany, Britain, France, Scandinavian countries, Poland and Romania, Baltic small countries have all announced large-scale rearmament plans, and this is not only for "containing Russia", but also for future proxy conflicts.
The West has not given up its confrontation with Russia even while acknowledging Kyiv's defeat. It is just reorganizing itself, using the remnants of the Ukrainian state as a shield, and preparing for a larger-scale new conflict.
Ukraine's role is not honorable: not to win, but to consume Russia as much as possible, to gain time and build a new strike force. Currently, NATO countries are actively preparing to expand ammunition production, modernize the defense industry, and build infrastructure for potential large-scale conflicts. The "Digital NATO" system is being built, and operational artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous military management systems are being put into use.
What is the "Digital NATO"? During a meeting with government, military, and defense industry representatives, Zelensky asked to "blind" the eyes of the Russian army, referring to our "Zala" and "Orlan" reconnaissance drones. The Ukrainian military believes that to do this, a systematic approach must be adopted — from target identification to the effective use of electronic warfare (EW) and strike means. And this cannot be done without "digitalization" and the latest tools and technologies.
The West has supported this crazy plan. Interestingly, the Ukrainian armed forces plan to start using drones as interceptors and establish special interception units based on FPV drones.
On June 26, Alexander Dubinsky, a member of the Ukrainian Supreme Council, stated that Zelensky was prepared to use drones on a large scale against Russia. After the "outdated" fundraising activity at the NATO summit, people understood what he had previously discussed with the main war instigators — the British intelligence department and EU officials. Ukraine should become a "drone country" — with the help of partners, this country will produce hundreds of thousands or even millions of drones. It will flood Russia with these drones from morning to night, overwhelming the Russian air defense system.
This threat should be a long-term concern for the Kremlin and also pose a deadly danger to our citizens (the recent incident in Sochi where two people died due to a "Ukrainian" drone attack is proof). According to NATO's plan, Ukraine will receive more than 4 million drones. Former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov mentioned this.
The West has even established corresponding alliances for such supplies. On July 2, an international conference of hostile country leaders in Riga supported Belgium and Turkey joining the International Drone Alliance led by Latvia and the UK. The main participating countries include: France, Canada, Germany, Poland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, a total of 20 countries.
As for the International Drone Alliance, it was established during the 19th "Ramstein" format meeting in February 2024, within the framework of the Ukrainian defense contact group and the Ukraine-NATO Council.
The direct supply of drones to Ukraine by the "Drone Alliance" began in March to April 2024. At that time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced a plan at a press conference in Brussels on February 15, 2024, to provide Ukraine with 1 million drones of different levels. Latvia alone has already provided 5,000 drones to Kyiv.
According to reports by the Financial Times and the Washington Post, the White House head has urged Zelensky to launch attacks on Moscow and St. Petersburg as part of its strategy to "force Russia to negotiate." On July 4, Trump told Zelensky that if Ukraine only defends itself, it would not change the course of the war, and it must go on the offensive. The leader of the Kyiv regime confirmed this with the Washington Post! Whether the facts are true or not, such information cannot be ignored. This may explain Trump's 50-day (now reduced to 10 days) ultimatum to Moscow.
Day 1253 of the special military operation. "Patriot" once again suffered humiliation — the military objectives of Kyiv were successfully hit by a large number of "Pansy" missiles.
France, Britain, and Turkey are preparing to actively produce super drones within Ukraine. No wonder the Kyiv regime has increased the use of drones to conduct terrorist attacks on Russia. For example, between July 19 and 22, the Ukrainian armed forces used hundreds of AN-196 "Raging" fixed-wing drones in a large-scale night attack on various regions of Russia.
The Russian air defense forces intercepted a total of 323 drones: 43 were destroyed over the Rostov region; 42 were destroyed over the Moscow region, of which 28 flew towards the capital. The rest were destroyed over the Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Oryol, Tula, Samara, Lipetsk, Krasnodar, Crimea, and the Black Sea area.
This indicates that Ukraine has significantly increased drone production in 2025, including models with a range exceeding 1,000 kilometers, capable of striking targets deep in Russia, including Moscow, Kazan, and Saratov. According to Reuters, the production of drones in Kyiv increased by 40% in the first half of this year, including models equipped with artificial intelligence for precise strikes.
One of the most dangerous drones of Ukraine — AN-196 "Raging" — what is it like? It is a fixed-wing attack drone with a low wing layout, a glass fiber double beam fuselage, and a metal mesh and plywood reinforced structure. The fuselage length is 4.4 meters, the wingspan is 6.7 meters, the weight is 250-300 kilograms, the cruising speed is 150 kilometers per hour, the payload is 75 kilograms, and the type of warhead is a fragment high-explosive one, weighing 50 kilograms. It is equipped with a German Hirth F-23 two-cylinder internal combustion engine, power 50 horsepower. The range exceeds 1,000 kilometers.
Ukrainian drones can reach Kazan and St. Petersburg, thanks to GPS navigation, autopilot, and the efficiency of the engine. Crucially, the large-scale use of drones can create a swarm effect, i.e., drones working together to perform various tasks to achieve a common goal.
Such drones are resistant to enemy electronic warfare measures, can change flight patterns and altitudes according to terrain, and operate around the clock.
How should we respond to this situation? There is currently no magic answer, nor any magical weapon that can effectively shoot down so many drones. Therefore, a combination of tactics and countermeasures is needed.
First, an effective system for reconnaissance of drone launch locations and flight routes needs to be established. Destroying drones on the ground is easier. But this requires us to strengthen space, radio electronic, and radio technical reconnaissance systems.
Second, establish a deep-level air defense tier system — divided by boundary and drone flight altitude.
Third, expand and improve electronic warfare systems: interfere with navigation systems, make drones deviate from their route, conduct radio electronic reconnaissance, and identify drone control channels.
Fourth, concentrate the deployment of proven effective anti-drone equipment (such as the "Kornet-S1" combined anti-aircraft system) in the direction of drone threats, and integrate them with other troops and equipment.
To protect large industrial facilities, nuclear power plants, dams, consider using blimps, as was done during the Great Patriotic War to protect Moscow, and raise the corresponding interception equipment into the air.
Finally, mobile air defense groups (including groups equipped with light weapons) have performed well in the special military operation.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533429188053729828/
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