Russia readying swarm of 2,000 ‘kamikaze’ and stealth drones to blitz West if ships enter its waters, state media warns

RUSSIA could use a fleet of 2,000 new generation “kamikaze drones” to strike against the West if naval ships enter its waters.

A state media report said the unmanned aerial crafts will have the capability to “put frigates or destroyers out of commission by damaging their surveillance, control and weapons systems”.

State-run Sputnik news agency implied the new drones could be used in future cases if British or US naval vessels sail into waters claimed by Russia as its own.

A defence industry source said a technology had been developed “for protecting Russia’s maritime borders from intruding vessels, including military ones.

“The system will include reconnaissance drones as well as several types of loitering munition.”

Some elements of the new-tech including “Kamikaze drone launchers” had been approved by the Defence Ministry, it was reported.

“The source noted that the system is low-cost as loitering munition is several times cheaper than anti-ship missiles,” said the Sputnik report.

“At the same time, mass deployment of kamikaze drones can put frigates or destroyers out of commission by damaging their surveillance, control and weapons systems.”

In October, there was a tense standoff when Moscow claimed US destroyer Chafee had approached its territorial waters and "attempted to cross the state border" in the Sea of Japan.

In June, Russia opened fire when the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender sailed off Crimea in the Black Sea in what the British described as a deliberate act of support for Ukraine.

A FSB security service coast guard vessel fired shots in the direction of the UK warship, claiming the vessel had sailed into Russian territorial waters, which Britain denied.

Moscow also claimed to have dropped bombs from an Su-24 warplane in a bid to push the British ship away from the Crimean coast.

A major diplomatic incident followed in which Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the show of support for Ukraine as “entirely right”.

Today’s Sputnik report did not identify the type of kamikaze drone it was referring to.

But Russia earlier highlighted its kamikaze ‘Flying Kalashnikov’ - which ‘prowls for hours’ in the sky acting as an aerial minefield.

This unmanned war machine - also dubbed the ‘Wunderwaffe’ - was reportedly battle-tested by the Russian Spetsnaz in Syria.

It acts like an aerial minefield, loitering in the sky above a battlefield for many hours posing “an insurmountable obstacle for enemy drones”.

Strongly pro-Kremlin TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov told state-controlled Rossiya 1 TV: “Russia has something that cools the zeal of those who want to fight.

“Ukraine, for example, has bought Turkish Bayraktar drones.

“Flying at twice the speed, the Russian Lancet leaves no chance for Bayraktars.

“And this thing also mines the sky.”

It is a “high-precision instrument for surgical operations” by Russian special forces equipped with 3 kilograms of explosives, he said.

The Lancet made by ZALA AERO allegedly does not require any additional ground- or sea-based infrastructure to locate and engage its targets.

Alexánder Zakharov, chief designer of ZALA AERO, said “Mine placement can be organised in the air for several dozen hours.”

2,000 MILITARY DRONES

President Vladimir Putin later boasted he had 2,000 military drones, and is seeking to upgrade their military capacity.

A defence ministry video was released highlighting the Altius, Inokhodets, Orlan-10, Forpost, and Okhotnik drones.

The Okhotnik is a stealth combat drone which can operate in tandem with a Russian fighter.

The unmanned flying vehicle is intended to be controlled on missions by pilots in an accompanying warplane, or from the ground.

The Sukhoi-made Okhotnik - meaning Hunter - is “almost undetectable” to Western enemies, boasts Russia.

It would purportedly be capable of flying from Moscow to London and back on a single mission.

The Russian strongman is engaged in a week of sessions with his defence chiefs and arms makers.

“A meeting he will be chairing this afternoon will be fully dedicated to drones,” said his spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Putin said Russia had military experience of the impact of drone attack firepower on its forces in Syria.

“We know very well how it has proven itself in the armed conflicts of recent years, how effective it is and how dangerous it can be for us, bearing in mind what we have seen in Syria - drone attacks by terrorists,” he said.

“We have learned how to repel these attacks and we do it quite effectively.

“We now have over 2,000 drones in service.

“We need to continue to work on them, including the use of artificial intelligence.

“And the experience we have in using them.”