(NationalUSNews.com) — At a conference in St Petersburg this week, Polina Albek, general director of Russian aerospace firm First Airship, announced that Russia is developing a network of barrage balloons to counter Ukrainian drone strikes.
The firm primarily focuses on building cargo airships, but they have now created a barrier defense system based on the historical barrage balloons method. Albek says that the balloons will rise to about 984 feet and deploy a net that will intercept incoming drones. They can also be equipped with a “vacuum gun” to shoot nets at approaching drones. This system has already undergone testing, and initial orders have been made.
Barrage balloons were first used in WWI, but they also played a crucial role during WWII, and they were a vital part of Britain’s defenses. By September 1941, Britain had deployed 2,748 barrage balloons, which were instrumental during the D-Day landings in 1944. The barrage balloons forced German aircraft to fly at higher altitudes. This made it more difficult for them to hit their targets and made them more vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. The cables that anchored the balloons posed significant risks to aircraft and could cause severe damage or destruction. Attempting to shoot down the balloons could lead to explosions as hydrogen was used for buoyancy, which added yet another layer of defense.
Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian forces have been targeting Russian energy infrastructure and airbases with long-range drone attacks. Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, revealed that Ukrainian forces have launched 70 drones in an attack on Morozovsk airbase in Russia’s Rostov region. In June, Ukraine forces successfully targeted a Russian Su-57 stealth fighter jet at the Akhtubinsk airfield, located 360 miles from the front line.
Drone strikes have become a vital part of Ukraine’s continued efforts to disrupt Russian military capabilities. Drone warfare has been a new and rapidly evolving form of modern military action, and new offenses and defenses are constantly being innovated or discovered. Russia has already been considering the military applications of balloons. Just last year, Russia used dozens of reflective hot air balloons over Kyiv to confuse anti-missile defense systems ahead of a missile and drone attack. The new balloons from First Airship seem to be a technological step up.
Copyright 2024, NationalUSNews.com
