In a sharp escalation of its drone campaign targeting strategic industries deep inside Russia, Ukraine seems to have fitted Cessna-style light planes with remote controls, packed them with explosives and flown at least one of them more than 600 miles to strike a Russian factory in Yelabuga, 550 miles east of Moscow.

Ironically, the Russian factory produces—you guessed it—drones.

Russians on the ground recorded the shocking scene as the light plane dove onto the sprawling Alabuga Special Economic Zone industrial campus, where workers assemble Iranian-designed Shahed drones that, just like Ukraine’s DIY Cessna-style drone, can range as far 600 miles with an explosive payload.

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Let’s be honest…. Probably less expensive and just as effective as a tomohawk.

    • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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      7 months ago

      A Tomahawk goes about 4 times faster, but it seems it doesn’t matter if your enemy is incompetent.

      • Buelldozer@lemmy.today
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        7 months ago

        Your comment made me go do the math and a TCM is, in fact, between 3.5 and 4 times faster than the fuel efficiency speed of a Cessna 206.

        Kudos to you good Person.

    • saltesc@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      This is the equivalent of wrapping ping pong balls in tin foil, putting a lighter underneath for a few seconds, and suddenly effective smoke bombs.

      Edit: Yes, you can try this at home. But outside and obviously don’t rip the fumes like a bong.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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        7 months ago

        You forgot the part where the smoke bombs were able to travel a vast distance undetected after you threw them at a low speed.