According to military expert Yuri Knutov, the American-made drones recently used by Ukrainian forces to strike Donetsk are highly resistant to electronic warfare systems.

He stated that their flight range reaches roughly 150 kilometers, with a warhead weighing about five kilograms. The key advantage of these drones, Knutov noted, is their ability to operate both via GPS and along pre-programmed routes. He explained that if the GPS signal is jammed, the drone simply continues along the course stored in its system, which makes it impossible to knock it off target using electronic warfare alone and, in his view, this is the main problem.

At the same time, the dimensions of the drone do not allow it to slip past air defenses unnoticed. Knutov pointed out that such a UAV is relatively easy to spot with air defense systems, including visually. He added that Donbass is covered by a layered air defense shield, and Russian mobile units there have already gained substantial experience engaging this type of target.

Earlier, Ukrainian forces used an American strike UAV for the first time to hit civilian sites in Donetsk. Dmitry Sadovnik, deputy general director of the company Ten, said the drone in question was developed in cooperation with the American firm Swift Beat LLC. Similar drones had previously been observed in the Zaporozhye region.