The Ukrainian drone that almost flew to Moscow, and what is still in the arsenal of the Armed Forces

On Tuesday, February 28, in the Kolomensky district of the Moscow suburbs, the remains of a drone were discovered, which was recognized in Russia as an alleged UJ-22 Airborne attack UAV. And although the latter was never officially confirmed, it shows that there are fewer and fewer safe places in Russia, and the striking capabilities of the Armed Forces are growing, writes dev.ua.

The Ukrainian drone that almost flew to Moscow, and what is still in the arsenal of the Armed Forces

The drone landed 10 m from the fence of Gazprom's compression station, representatives of the Russian state company reported.

According to the media, of all the recent drone attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation, at least one UAV hit the target — the Rosneft oil depot in Tuapse (Krasnodar Territory). The city is located almost 500 km from the Ukrainian border.

There is not much information about the UJ-22 Airborne UAV. This development of the Ukrainian company "Ukrjet" was presented for the first time at the arms exhibition in 2021.

However, the strike on the suburbs of the Russian capital became a landmark, but not the only one, which confirms the strength and capabilities of the Armed Forces. We tell you everything that is currently known about Ukrainian drones that hit targets behind enemy lines.

What is the UJ-22 Airborne for

Now the iconic development can be used for:

• intelligence, as it can carry a camera and an optical-electronic station;
• transportation thanks to the payload weight of 20 kg, which is convenient for sending, say, medicines to the front line or some ammunition;
• strike tasks - the same 20 kg can be used for ammunition suspension, this is 4 standard 82 mm mortar mines or several grenades for the RPG-7.

By the way, in flight, the UJ-22 Airborne can be controlled in automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes.

Features

The published characteristics of the UJ-22 Airborne in general allow us to say that it is capable of flying not only to Moscow, but also to much longer distances. In particular, the developers declare a maximum range of 800 km, that is, the drone can travel 1600 km in one direction. And this, of course, without the possibility of controlling the UAV from a ground station, which is limited to a mark of 100 km.

And this is enough to reach quite remote objects in the Russian Federation, not only its European part. That is, it is possible to send "hello" with this drone in the districts of St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Perm and Orenburg.

Communication between the ground control center and the aircraft over a digital encrypted two-way UHF data transmission channel and a digital two-way encrypted UHF data transmission channel.

The UAV can fly at an altitude of up to 6000 meters at a speed of 140-200 km/h and stay in the air for up to 14 hours. It is more difficult to determine the range that the UJ-22 Airborne can operate. The control of the complex is performed by two people - the pilot and the payload operator. Their workplaces are located on an all-terrain vehicle with air conditioning, heating and climate control systems.

If the return of the UAV is not planned, then it can fly 1600 km in one direction and attack as a kamikaze drone with 20 kg of explosives in, say, Perm, where there is also a military airfield.

At the same time, a representative of the manufacturing company claimed in 2021 that the combat radius of the drone is limited to 150 kilometers. Now the manufacturer claims that the strike drone can fly 800 km with a payload of up to 20 kg.

The UJ-22 is much worse visible on the radar screen - carbon fiber is used in its construction, and the device itself, which flies rather slowly at a low altitude, is poorly seen by ground locators.

In the arsenal of the unmanned aerial vehicle are unguided aerial bombs for defeating the enemy's manpower and armored vehicles. Unguided aerial bombs are 82-mm mines modified for dropping from a UAV, and against armored vehicles, the main part of a rocket-propelled grenade is adapted for dropping from a drone.

In addition to ammunition, the unmanned aerial vehicle can take a camera, an optical-electronic station from the payload.

The antenna communication system is an automatic tracking system with provision of two independent duplicated data transmission channels.

Technical characteristics of the UJ-22 Airborne:

• Maximum take-off weight: 85 kg.
• Total length: 3300 mm.
• Wingspan: 4600 mm.
• Practical ceiling: 6000 meters.
• Maximum flight time: 14 hours.
• Maximum/cruising speed: 200/140 km/hour.
• Engine: gasoline two-stroke.
• Payload weight: 20 kg.

Not only the UJ-22: what else is Ukraine doing to attack the Russian Federation?

In addition to spot attacks, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carry out massive UAV strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation. Thus, the massive strike by drones on February 27 in several regions of Russia became the largest such event since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Three drones fell or were shot down in Belgorod, another one over Suraz district in Bryansk region.

At night, as a result of a drone strike, an explosion occurred at an oil depot in Tuapse, and another device fell in Adygea. On the morning of February 28, information appeared that another drone had fallen near a gas compressor station in the Kolomensky District of the Moscow Region. The Russian media even wrote with reference to security forces that he was carrying a certain combat charge. Judging by the photo from the place where the drone fell in Adygea, it was equipped with a turbojet engine - the turbine blades are clearly visible in the photo.

In addition, the airspace in the Leningrad region was blocked for some time due to an unknown object in the sky, reports the Russian publication "Fontanka" with reference to its sources.

Various sources reported that the Russian military sent the conditional signal "Carpet" to the "Unified Air Traffic Management System", which means an attempt to cross the air state border of the Russian Federation, the BBC writes. After such a signal, all civilian aircraft are usually ordered to immediately leave the area or land.

Official representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not comment on these events, and deny the drone attacks at all.

"Ukraine does not attack the territory of the Russian Federation. Ukraine is waging a defensive war with the aim of deoccupying all its territories. This is an axiom. The processes of panic and disintegration are increasing in the Russian Federation, the manifestation of which is an increase in internal attacks by unidentified flying objects on infrastructure objects," Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, wrote on Twitter.

In addition, at the beginning of December, several airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions were struck by unmanned aerial vehicles. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation blamed Ukraine for them, saying that it had used old Soviet reconnaissance drones converted into shock weapons.

The only such aircraft capable of reaching these targets was the Tu-141, which Ukraine has in stock. If these strikes are the work of the Armed Forces, then, most likely, these jet drones were converted Soviet Tu-141 drones. Ukraine already used them during strikes on long-range and strategic aviation airfields in December.

Nothing is reported about the victims. The destruction is due to the explosion in Tuapse. In addition, high-rise buildings in Belgorod were damaged. It is also unclear whether all the drones had explosive warheads and whether these explosive devices went off.

Next - more?

It is interesting that the case with the UJ-22 Airborne is the first time when a drone flew to the Moscow region. This means that, first of all, the Russian capital could also potentially come under attack.

Apparently, this is why air defense systems are installed on the roofs of Moscow high-rises. In addition to being massive and coordinated, this attack was also carried out using a variety of means.

At the moment, it is not known for sure who and for what purpose tried to hit the targets on the territory of the Russian Federation, but one thing is indisputable - it definitely made the Russians afraid.

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