OPINION: Sightings of Russian Truck-Mounted Drones – New Strategy or Display Stunt?

During rehearsals for this year’s Russian May 9 Victory Day parade there were sightings of Russian Kamaz trucks on which attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were mounted, prompting some military commentators to take this as evidence that Moscow is employing a new mobile strategy for the use of the weapons.

On April 18, it was reported that, during a rehearsal being held in Alabino in Russia’s Moscow Region, a KamAZ-6350 8x8 truck was seen to be carrying two Shahed / Geran-2 kamikaze drones, one behind the other. The front drone is mounted on what appears to be a foreshortened launch ramp with the rearmost drone fixed to an improvised frame.

On April 20, it was reported that a second Kamaz was spotted on which two Lancet loitering munitions were set out in a similar way were spotted during a nighttime rehearsal on Moscow’s Red Square.

In both cases the military issues website Army Recognition described the sightings as the first public showcasing of new mobile launcher systems that underlines Russia’s growing focus on the integration of unmanned aerial systems into frontline operations. It said the setup would allow for rapid deployment and high mobility of the launch platform using a “shoot and scoot” tactic.

The articles go on to suggest that these mobile platforms were intended to offer battlefield tactical advantage. It would allow Russian forces to rapidly deploy, use and reposition the launcher system thereby complicating Ukrainian targeting efforts and enhancing system survivability. It also posits that by bringing the launch site closer to the front line this would reduce the time required for a drone to reach its target.

Other Topics of Interest

Ukraine Launches Drone Blitz on Russian Explosives Plants and Fuel Hubs

Ukrainian long-range strike drones executed a multi-regional offensive across Russia overnight Saturday-Sunday. The strategic operation targeted the “Azot” chemical plant in Novomoskovsk – a facility supplying raw materials for Russian artillery shell explosives – sparking fires verified by NASA satellite tracking. Concurrently, separate drone strikes ignited a railway depot in Vyazma and compromised the “Temp” state reserve fuel storage complex in Rybinsk.

Warming to its subject the writers say this will allow Russian forces to “conduct dynamic and persistent surveillance-strike missions with relatively low logistical demands.”

I have to admit I am skeptical about this interpretation of what the vehicles actually represent.

Firstly, these are the only two examples of vehicle mounted drones that have been encountered and there has been no corroborative intelligence or operational account of UAVs being deployed in this way – with one exception:

On March 16, the milblogger Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) posted a video that appeared to show a Russian Shahed-136/Geran-2 UAV being launched from a moving pick-up truck followed by video of an explosion on a building which it claimed showed the same drone striking a target in Ukraine.

It seems more likely to me, in the absence of any verifiable evidence, that the two examples of truck mounted drones readied for the Victory Day parade are simply mockups rather than truly operational representations.

The “launch rails” and frame to which the drones are fixed are there to give an indication to the audience of how the drones are deployed and to lift them up so the crowd could see the UAVs more clearly. This likelihood is reinforced by the fact that the drones are also held in place by cables fixing them to the truck chassis.

From an operational point of view I also question whether logistically and from a command and control standpoint whether deploying individual launchers scattered across the battlefield would offer any real advantage – particularly as the Russian recent tactics for the Shahed-type of drone is to send mass swarms in an attempt to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.