"Bayraktar Bayraktar" is a song that Ukrainian fighters sang during their recent war with Russia to celebrate the capabilities and role of the famous Turkish march that they obtained from Ankara to repel the continuous Russian attack on their country for more than 6 months.
The role of combat marches, led by the Turkish Bayraktar, has increased during the recent wars and battles that took place in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Syria, Libya, and recently Ukraine.
While Ukraine and Russia exchange daily statements that include announcements of launching precise and focused strikes against the other party, in which they incur heavy losses, Kyiv focuses on its forces launching raids using drones, while most of Moscow’s statements do not include any reference to launching such raids with the same weapon.
The recent US media reports of Moscow communicating with Tehran to obtain Iranian drones and train Russian cadres to use them despite Tehran’s denials, raised questions, most notably whether Russia, which has the second most powerful army in the world and various types of advanced weapons, does not possess a drone weapon or does it possess Like it and keep it as a secret weapon, which is answered by a number of military experts who spoke to Al Jazeera Net.
Drain for the Russians
Military and strategic analyst Eid Al-Flood believes that one of the reasons for the Russian-Ukrainian war is that the United States wants to fight, as it is said, until the last Ukrainian soldier, meaning that Washington seeks to drain the Russians and reveal their secret and strategic weapons without incurring any losses on the ground.
The flood, a former brigadier in the Iraqi army, added that what he described as the shock left by the Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile, after it was revealed in recent years, prompted the US Central Intelligence (CIA) to move to find out its details, features, and what Russia hides of advanced weapons, and it found an opportunity in the Ukrainian war. suitable.
The flood indicated that the Russians have advanced models of warplanes, headed by the Sukhoi 57, which have yet to participate only in demonstrations and carry out a few strikes, and they compete with their capabilities, the American F-29 and F-35 fighters.
The Flood: Iran has advanced drones that match the efficiency of Turkish aircraft (Reuters)
Russia also has Sukhoi models of drones and other types, but the Russians - and speaking of a flood - are keen not to reveal all their secret and strategic weapons, especially since they are aware that they are fighting an exhausted and tired army, i.e. the Ukrainian army and behind it the Americans and NATO with their weapons and intelligence information.
He pointed out that Kyiv's allies provide it with advanced but limited weapons such as HIMARS systems and howitzers, but it remains that they are keen not to provide it with more powerful ones in order not to provoke the Russian bear, which could ignite a third world war that no one is ready or to bear its costs.
And the flood continues, and that is why the Russians may have chosen the Iranian marches parallel to the efficiency of the Turkish ones, which could deal with the tired Ukrainian army while at the same time not using their advanced weapons so as not to be exposed or fall into the hands of the enemies.
secret weapon
For his part, the military expert, Fayez Al-Asmar, disagrees with the viewpoint of the flood and says that on the contrary, Russia has used and is still using reconnaissance and combat drones in abundance, whether in Syria or Ukraine, but apparently far from the media and data.
Al-Asmar explained to Al-Jazeera Net that the Russian army used and still uses one-way marches, such as the "Lancet 3" suicide bombers in Syria and Ukraine, and also used the "Orlan 10" planes, especially in eastern Ukraine, the Donbass region and the Zaporozhye province, where these planes destroyed American Hemars systems, howitzers and other weapons. Western acquired by Kyiv.
The Russian long-range drone "Sirius" during its participation in a military exhibition in Moscow (European)
Al-Asmar pointed out that Russia is an advanced country in the manufacture of strategic drones. It has, for example, the Tu-300 Corchen, which is sometimes called the "shock drone", which carries a large amount of bombs and guided missiles and operates at altitudes of up to 6 km, as well as the "Okhotnik" aircraft, which is capable of concealment. Relatively far from hostile radars.
The military expert says that the Russian forces undoubtedly use warplanes and drones together, for all of their advantages and uses, which dictates the use of this type or that is the nature of the target, the mission, its depth, the distance and duration of flight time, and the weapons required to be used to deal with the target.
comparison
Al-Asmar compares the advantages of each type, saying - for example - that warplanes enjoy greater speed and carry more ammunition and missiles that enable it to deal with columns of tanks, vehicles and multiple targets. The pilot also has the advantage of maneuvering in air battles and escaping from air defenses, while the march has advantages Others include ease of control, low cost, not risking the human factor, and the possibility of using them as suicide planes.
Russian Su-57 fifth-generation aircraft during a military parade (French)
Regarding Russia’s lack of use of drones in the battles of Ukraine, Al-Asmar comments that, as is known, Ukraine is a large country with an area of more than 600,000 square kilometers, and this imposes and is reflected in the military performance and the type of weapons used. Wild and other types of weapons.
Regarding the reports that talked about talks between Moscow and Tehran to supply the first with Iranian drones, Al-Asmar believes that Russia may need suicide drones, and the capabilities of the Iranian drones, which enjoy light weight and speed, and the difficulty of confronting them by air defenses, may be one of the reasons.
normal thing
For his part, Brigadier General Pilot Asaad Al-Zoubi says that Russia, as is well known, is a developed country in the manufacture of various types of weapons, foremost of which are missiles and aircraft.
Brigadier General Al-Zoubi explains to Al Jazeera Net that the drones are diverse and vary in their capabilities and the goals for which they were made. Some of them are used to confuse or deplete the enemy's air defenses or for reconnaissance, photography and monitoring of enemy movements and weapons, and there are also some of them that are combative, and from this each country manufactures its drones according to need and purpose.
Al-Zoubi points out that Russia has noticed that it has lost many of its warplanes in Ukraine or is venturing into them, so it began to think of resorting to giving a greater role to the drones, but it seems that it does not have enough of them to cover the entire war field or that what it possesses of them does not enjoy With the required destructive power or the ability to travel long distances and follow certain flight paths, this prompted it to search for a source for other drones, and found its ally, Iran, to be a target.
Al-Zoubi concludes that Russia's importation of drones - if the reports are true - is not considered an insult to it from a military point of view, especially in light of their close relations and goals. Good, as well as Russia or other countries may have advanced in certain industries and lagged in others.