Crimea’s air defense could be strengthened by mobile groups staffed by volunteers from BARS units or employees of private security companies, military expert and air defense historian Yuri Knutov told NEWS.ru.

He stressed that manpower alone would not be enough for such units to operate effectively. According to Knutov, the groups would need proper professional equipment, including vehicles, anti-aircraft machine guns, man-portable air defense systems, compact electronic warfare tools to protect crews, and small arms, including shotguns. Observation equipment would also be essential, from binoculars to night-vision devices.

Knutov pointed to interceptor drones as a separate area of development. In his view, they could become a useful addition to the existing air defense system: they cost less than anti-aircraft missiles while giving crews more options than conventional small arms.

The expert described air defense drones as one of the most promising tools currently available for countering unmanned aerial vehicles. He called for faster production of such systems and for training operators capable of striking both fixed-wing UAVs and standard drones.

Earlier, Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said Kiev intended to achieve the full isolation of Crimea from Russia by cutting off the land supply route to the peninsula.