Soviet-Made, Jet-Powered Drone Was Shot Down Over Ukraine (Photos)
On March 8, Ukrainian sources shared photos showing the wreckage of a Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-141 "Strizh" drone that was shot down over an unspecified part of Ukraine.
The Tu-141 is a large, medium-range reconnaissance drone that first entered service in the 1970s. It was designed to conduct reconnaissance missions behind the front lines at transonic speeds.
The drone could be equipped with several types of payloads, including film cameras, infrared imagers, electro-optical imagers and imaging radar.
The Tu-141 has a cruise speed of 1,000 kilometers an hour, a range of 1,000 kilometers and a service ceiling of 6,000 meters. The drone, which is powered by a KR-17A turbojet engine, is launched from a trailer using a solid-propellant booster and landed with the aid of a tail-mounted parachute.
The downed Tu-141 was most likely Ukrainian. The Ukrainian military returned its Tu-141 into active service in 2014 War in Donbass.
The old drone will not likely pose any challenge to Russian fighter jets and air defenses, which have shot down 93 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
In Russia, Tu-141 drones remain out of service. However, the Russian military may be using them in Ukraine as decoys to trick and test the remaining air defenses of Ukraine. The military has been using Eniks E95M aerial targets in this role.
#southFront #Russia #Ukraine
On March 8, Ukrainian sources shared photos showing the wreckage of a Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-141 "Strizh" drone that was shot down over an unspecified part of Ukraine.
The Tu-141 is a large, medium-range reconnaissance drone that first entered service in the 1970s. It was designed to conduct reconnaissance missions behind the front lines at transonic speeds.
The drone could be equipped with several types of payloads, including film cameras, infrared imagers, electro-optical imagers and imaging radar.
The Tu-141 has a cruise speed of 1,000 kilometers an hour, a range of 1,000 kilometers and a service ceiling of 6,000 meters. The drone, which is powered by a KR-17A turbojet engine, is launched from a trailer using a solid-propellant booster and landed with the aid of a tail-mounted parachute.
The downed Tu-141 was most likely Ukrainian. The Ukrainian military returned its Tu-141 into active service in 2014 War in Donbass.
The old drone will not likely pose any challenge to Russian fighter jets and air defenses, which have shot down 93 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
In Russia, Tu-141 drones remain out of service. However, the Russian military may be using them in Ukraine as decoys to trick and test the remaining air defenses of Ukraine. The military has been using Eniks E95M aerial targets in this role.
#southFront #Russia #Ukraine