Modified A-22 drone planes were used in Chechnya: what is known about them.
On Sunday, December 15, a long-range drone, likely based on the Ukrainian-made sports aircraft "Aeroprakt A-22," was used for an attack on the OMON base in the capital of Chechnya, Grozny. It was loaded with explosives and flew approximately one thousand kilometers to its target.
This information was reported by Forbes. According to the American business magazine, the strike on the special forces base in Grozny was the latest in a series of attacks using the Aeroprakt A-22, which the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has allegedly "modified into unilateral strike drones" since the beginning of this year.
The range of this drone is over 1300 km with an additional fuel tank, in addition to remote guidance systems and explosive payloads. The A-22 drone, valued at 90 thousand dollars, has already targeted, among other things, a drone factory, a missile research center, and a naval base with ships, Forbes reports.
The drone that struck the special forces base had opaque covers obscuring the normally transparent glass around the A-22 cockpit (which can accommodate two people in its manned configuration).
It is also possible that the drone previously had a registration number on its tail (the strike footage from December 15 likely shows a paint spot over the number).
"This may indicate that the intelligence agency is seeking used A-22s for its drone program, rather than taking all airframes directly from the Kyiv-based 'Aeroprakt' factory," the publication writes.
The impact resulted in a fiery explosion, yet there was no debris wave that one might expect from specially designed munitions for long-range strikes, such as those found in the British Storm Shadow cruise missile.
In comparison, the Storm Shadow features a tandem warhead—one for breaching the target and the second for exploding inside. Conversely, the A-22 appears to have a simpler unitary warhead. Furthermore, the Storm Shadow or a similar missile travels at a speed of about 965 km/h, providing it with greater penetrating power.
In contrast, the A-22, sacrificing speed for range, has a maximum speed of about 200 km/h. The lack of penetrating power may not matter if the target is not strong, armored, or underground.
What Preceded
On December 15, an explosion occurred in the capital of Chechnya, Grozny, due to an attack by a drone the size of an aircraft. Local residents reported that "about 2 drones" fell in the city. It was reported that one UAV struck the building of the second Chechen special forces regiment, while the other targeted the OMON base.
Earlier, Telegrаph reported that on Thursday, December 12, the head of the Chechen Republic (RF), Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed yet another attack using a drone on the building of the special forces regiment in Grozny.