Satellite images show several bombers and fighters operated by Moscow’s forces with car tires placed on their wings and the top of their fuselage while stationed at Engels Air Base in Russia’s Saratov Oblast.

According to Schuyler Moore, Chief Technology Officer of US Central Command, the tactic likely aims to disrupt incoming attacks by confusing image-matching weapons searching for hostile aircraft.

“If you put tires on top of the wings, all of a sudden, a lot of computer vision models [will] have difficulty identifying that that’s a plane,” she said during a recent discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) and technology.

Previous analyses suggest that the tires were meant to break up the aircraft’s infrared signatures so incoming missiles would miss their targets. Others speculated that they may be for added protection.

Brace yourselves, because russians have once again showcased unparalleled innovation. What you are looking at is a satellite image featuring a TU-95 strategic bomber covered with car tires. According to them, this should protect strategic bombers from drones pic.twitter.com/ZjDDzRPOWf

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 3, 2023

A Problem With AI-Driven Targeting

Moore’s analysis of Russia’s deception attempt is reportedly part of a broader discussion about AI-driven targeting.

She noted that some weapons rely on pre-set data and image matching to find targets.

Without effective adaptations, an adversary could simply swap or modify their assets to confuse existing targeting systems.

“We’re not saying that we need to have our own internal AI development team. What we need is for our users to better be able to engage with the models that exist out there,” she explained.

“So that means they need to be able to label new data sets that they think are relevant to them. They need to be able to push those labeled data sets to then retrain a model to look for something different.”

The rooftop tyre infection appears to be spreading around the Russian Air Force, now seen here on an Su-34. pic.twitter.com/ysXW96hINL

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 8, 2023

War Deception Tactics

This is not the first time Moscow has employed unusual deceptive strategies during its invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, the Russian military painted images of fighter aircraft on the tarmac of its airfields to mislead Ukrainian forces.

According to a UK Ministry of Defence intelligence report, at least 12 Russian air bases employ the same tactic, demonstrating the country’s large-scale use of deception.

Ukraine has also employed decoys of high-value assets to dupe Moscow into believing it had successfully destroyed them.

The post Russia Covering Warplanes With Tires to Confuse Ukraine Missiles: US Official appeared first on The Defense Post.

According to two European diplomats who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Kyiv initially requested that Washington allow the use of its ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, to strike Russian airfields housing glide bomb-carrying warplanes.

However, US National Security Advisor John Kirby argued that the requested targets are well beyond the missile’s effective range, which is only 300 kilometers (186 miles).

“We’ve done the math on this — 90% of them (Russian airfields) lie outside 300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, deep inside Russia,” he noted.

As a result, the sources said Kyiv revised its target list to focus on Russian military command centers, fuel and weapons depots, and troop concentrations, hoping to persuade the US to permit strikes deeper into enemy territory.

‘Working That Out’

While Kirby already indicated there will be no change in US policy regarding the weapons it supplied to Ukraine, President Joe Biden has hinted at the possibility of authorizing it amid Moscow’s increasing aggression.

He told reporters last week, “We’re working that out right now,” after his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly called for the restrictions to be lifted.

Biden also recently met with newly installed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss the matter, signaling openness to consider Kyiv’s persistent request.

Meanwhile, some US officials are skeptical about the impact of granting Ukraine greater freedom to use Western weapons.

They argued that Moscow has likely moved its most immediate threats to facilities beyond the range of US-supplied missiles.

Additionally, they noted that Kyiv already uses kamikaze drones for deep strikes into Russia, which are significantly cheaper than the ATACMS or other long-range weapons.

The post Ukraine Revises ATACMS Target List After US Downplays Capability appeared first on The Defense Post.

Thales UK will supply the Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) to Ukraine as part of a 162-million-pound ($212 million) contract.

The first batch is expected to be delivered by the end of this year.

“This new commitment will give an important boost to Ukraine’s air defenses and demonstrates our new government’s commitment to stepping up support for Ukraine,” British Defence Secretary John Healey MP said.

“In recent days we have seen the tragic cost of Russia’s indiscriminate strikes on Poltava and Lviv. These new UK-made missiles will support Ukraine to defend its people, infrastructure, and territory from Putin’s brutal attacks.”

Artillery Ammunition for Ukraine

The contract is primarily funded through the UK’s three-billion-pound ($3.92 billion) annual financial aid package for Ukraine and from Norway’s contributions through the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU).

It comes following a bilateral meeting between Healey and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov in London last week.

The meeting also provided a 300-million-pound ($392 million) package of artillery ammunition for Ukraine, procured through the IFU.

The ammunition delivery is also expected to start by the end of this year.

Lightweight Multirole Missile

The versatile guided missile is built by Thales at its Belfast facility, featuring a range of over 6 kilometers (3.72 miles) and a speed of Mach 1.5 (1,152 miles/1,852 kilometers per hour).

It can be fired from a variety of platforms on land, sea, and air at a broad set of targets, such as installations, armored personnel carriers, fast in-shore attack craft, and drones.

Hundreds of LMM missiles have been delivered to Ukraine since the start of the war, “destroying hundreds of Russian drones and other air threats,” according to London.

UK Orders LMM Missiles

To replenish its stocks, the UK Ministry of Defence placed an order of 176 million pounds ($227 million) in July for the missiles.

“Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, UK MoD and Thales have worked in close collaboration to support the Ukrainian effort by delivering key air defense systems at pace,” a Thales spokesperson said.

“We are pleased that this contract is the first to be signed under Task Force Hirst, which has been established to deliver a deeper defense industrial partnership between the UK and Ukraine.”

The post UK Announces 650 Air Defense Missiles for Ukraine appeared first on The Defense Post.

White House National Security Advisor John Kirby said that the ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, is ineffective against Russian warplanes used for long-range strikes in Ukraine.

He explained that the aircraft are stationed deep within enemy territory, beyond the range of the long-range weapon, which has a maximum reach of 300 kilometers (186 miles).

“We’ve done the math on this — 90% of them lie outside 300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, deep inside Russia,” Kirby said.

“So, the argument that somehow, if you just give [Ukrainians] an ATACMS and tell them ‘It’s okay’ [to strike deep] that they’re going to be able to go in and hit the majority of the Russian aircraft … is not true; it’s a misconception.”

No Change in Policy

While some of Kyiv’s allies have lifted restrictions on their donated weapons, the US remains firm in its decision that its transferred armaments can only be used for Ukraine’s defense.

In May, President Joe Biden temporarily eased the policy, but only for strikes on Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories.

Kirby said that while the US is committed to helping Ukraine win the war, it will continue its policy to prevent further escalation of the conflict.

“Nothing’s changed about our view that Ukraine should be able to use the tools it has available to defend itself, and that’s why air defense continues to be a prominent issue in these security packages that we’re giving,” he noted.

Despite Washington’s stance, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will continue to press the US to allow Kyiv’s forces to target military assets deep within Russian territory.

The post ATACMS Ineffective Against Aircraft Stationed Deep in Russia: US appeared first on The Defense Post.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the surface-to-air system was part of a build-up of German and European defenses launched after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the Ukraine invasion in 2022.

“Russia has been massively rearming for many years, especially in the field of rockets and cruise missiles,” Scholz said at the inauguration ceremony at a base in Todendorf near the northern city of Hamburg.

Putin had broken disarmament treaties and “deployed missiles as far as Kaliningrad,” a Russian exclave located some 530 kilometers (330 miles) from Berlin, he added.

“It would be negligent not to respond to this appropriately,” the chancellor said. “A failure to act would put peace at risk. I will not allow that.”

Scholz, who was joined by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, said the system was part of the European Sky Shield Initiative, which also includes long-range defenses against ballistic missiles.

The German military has ordered six of the Iris-T SLM systems at a total cost of 950 million euros ($1 million) from manufacturer Diehl Defence, to be delivered by May 2027.

Iris-T Success in Ukraine

Germany, the second-largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, has already supplied four Iris-T SLM systems to Ukraine and pledged another eight.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov was visiting Germany on Wednesday, a day after a Russian missile attack killed at least 51 people in the Ukrainian city of Poltava, one of the single deadliest bombardments of the war.

The Iris-T systems sent to Ukraine feature truck-mounted launchers that fire missiles to intercept aerial threats at a range of up to 40 kilometers (25 miles).

Scholz said that “in Ukraine, Iris-T has shot down over 250 rockets, drones, and cruise missiles to date and saved countless lives.”

The German leader said that Europe, aside from defensive systems, would also need more precision missiles of its own “so that there is no dangerous gap with Russia in this strategically important field.”

In July, Washington and Berlin announced that the “episodic deployments” of long-range US missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, to Germany would begin in 2026.

Scholz stressed that “our sole concern is to deter potential attackers. Every attack on us must mean a risk for the attacker. Our concern is to secure peace here and prevent war, and nothing else.”

The post German Army Activates Air Defense System, Citing Russia Threat appeared first on The Defense Post.

The announcement marks the first reported destruction of an F-16 in Ukraine, just weeks after Kyiv began taking delivery of the supersonic aircraft.

“F-16 fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were used to repel a missile attack on the territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, along with units of anti-aircraft missile troops,” the Ukrainian army said.

“During the approach to the next target, communication with one of the planes was lost. As it turned out later, the aircraft crashed, killing the pilot,” it added.

Official Statement: F-16s in Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/llTh7QQoy5

— Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) August 4, 2024

It did not identify the pilot, but a unit of Ukraine’s air force said one of its pilots, Oleksiy Mes, had died in a crash on Monday while repelling a Russian air attack.

“On 26 August, while repelling a Russian massive combined missile and air strike, Oleksiy destroyed three cruise missiles and one attack drone,” Ukraine’s Western air command unit said.

“Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles. Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life,” it said.

The announcements come as a blow to Ukraine, which had long relied on a fleet of aging Soviet-era MIG-29 and Sukhoi jets and had asked for the F-16s to defend against intense Russian aerial bombardment.

Moscow fired a wave of attack drones and missiles at Ukraine on Monday this week in what President Volodymyr Zelensky called one of the “largest” attacks of Russia’s two-and-a-half year invasion.

The post Ukraine Says US-Made F-16 Fighter Jet Crashed, Killing Pilot appeared first on The Defense Post.

Called “Palianytsia,” the weapon combines the features of drones and missiles, including having a micro-turbojet engine that generates 43 kilograms (95 pounds) of thrust.

It is also reportedly armed with a 20-kilogram (44-pound) blast fragmentation warhead similar to the capacity of an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.

In terms of aerodynamic design, the autonomous platform looks like a traditional rocket with a central body, forward-positioned wings, and a detachable tail section.

The rocket drone can be launched from a ground platform and is said to be cheaper to operate than other weapons of the same type.

Ukraine has introduced its first long-range rocket drone, Palianytsia, designed to target Russian airfields and strengthen its defense where Western weapons can’t be used.

United24 Media spoke with one of its developers and learned important details https://t.co/3iYQIstSGN pic.twitter.com/iVZo8rC63g

— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 25, 2024

Symbolic Name

The Palianytsia was developed out of an urgent need to counter Russia’s increasing dominance in the skies.

It took Ukraine one and a half years to develop the system and deploy it on the battlefield.

The name of the rocket drone is symbolic for Kyiv because apart from it being a traditional bread, it is also difficult for Russians to pronounce correctly.

The word was also used at the onset of the invasion to distinguish Ukrainians from Russians and symbolizes Ukrainian identity and resistance.

First Hit

In his Independence Day speech on August 24, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the first successful combat use of the Palianytsia.

It reportedly hit a Russian military facility in an occupied territory during a recent strike.

Though no further details were provided, Zelensky said the advancement is a critical way for the country to act amid the reluctance of some allies to allow greater freedom to use their donated weapons for strikes inside Russia.

“An absolutely new class of weapon… This is our new method of retaliating against the aggressor,” he declared.

The post Ukraine Unveils ‘Palianytsia’ Rocket Drone for Strikes Deep Into Russia appeared first on The Defense Post.

Deliveries will take place in the last quarter of 2024, in phases.

The ministry placed the repeat order after an initial purchase of 51 IRIS static drone radars 18 months ago, which have been deployed in various locations.

The latest radar comes equipped with a new on-the-move functionality, allowing it to operate while mounted on mobile platforms such as vehicles and vessels.

A mobile radar is harder to detect and target compared to static platforms, allowing it more uninterrupted time to perform drone detection.

IRIS Drone Radar

The three-dimensional, 29-kilogram (64-pound) IRIS radar is designed to detect small, fast, and elusive drones and is capable of distinguishing them from flying objects such as birds.

It provides early warning and precise updates, even while moving at high speed. The radar has an azimuth coverage of 360 degrees and an elevation of 60 degrees.

It has a maximum instrumented range of 5 kilometers (3 miles). It can detect drones weighing 3 kilograms (6 pounds) at a range of 4 kilometers (2.48 miles) and those weighing 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds) at a range of 2 kilometers (1.24 miles).

The investment by the Dutch Ministry of Defense helped develop the capability, which protects against “motion-induced effects that could degrade coverage, accuracy and line of sight,” the company explained.

The purchase will help the company scale up weekly IRIS production to four units and enable further innovations for the front line.

The post Netherlands Buys 51 Mobile Drone Detection Radars for Ukraine appeared first on The Defense Post.

In a report at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, he said most of the targeted sites were civilian infrastructure, while only 5,676 belonged to the military.

He also specified that a total of 9,590 missiles and 13,997 drones were used to attack Ukraine, of which 2,429 missiles (25 percent) and 5,972 drones (43 percent) were successfully intercepted.

Notably, 111 of these attacks involved Moscow’s Kinzhal hypersonic missile, and Kyiv’s air defenses were able to shoot down 25 percent of them.

Efficiency Rates

Among the weapons used by Moscow, the Ukrainian military registered relatively high efficiency rates in taking down cruise missiles and drones.

Syrskyi said 67 percent of Kalibr, Kh-555/101, and R-500 air-launched cruise missiles failed to reach their targets due to Ukraine’s countermeasures.

Nearly 9,000 of 13,315 Iranian Shahed-136 drones launched by the Russian military were also neutralized for an efficiency rate of 63 percent.

But if Kyiv was successful in taking down some Russian weapon systems, it appeared to be having a hard time intercepting anti-aircraft, ballistic, and air-to-surface missiles.

So far, its efficiency rate in shooting down Kh-59s, Kh-35s, Kh-31s, and similar air-to-surface missiles is only 22 percent.

Moreover, it also only neutralized 4.5 percent of the 1,388 Iskander, Tochka-U, and KN-23 ballistic missiles fired by the invading forces.

Meanwhile, S-300 and S-400 air defense missiles appeared to be most effective for Russia as only 0.63 percent of them were destroyed out of the 3,008 times they were launched.

The post Ukraine Says Nearly 12,000 Facilities Hit by Russian Strikes Since 2022 appeared first on The Defense Post.

This is according to a recent analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) following confirmation that the first batch of the fourth-generation aircraft has finally arrived in Kyiv.

The Washington, DC-based think tank acknowledges that the F-16s will be an attractive target for Moscow, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov already saying rewards are up for grabs for anyone who can neutralize the American aircraft.

Because of that, the ISW is urging Ukraine to use its long-range weapons to destroy Russian air defense assets before it flies its F-16s.

Moscow’s air defenses have been posing serious problems for Kyiv, enabling the invading forces to thwart Ukrainian drone strikes and neutralize multiple fighter jets.

‘Need a Substantial Number’

In a statement on X, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the country has received the F-16s, though he did not provide specific figures.

Two were immediately recognizable in a video he posted, but several reports indicate that Kyiv actually received 10 of the promised 79 jets.

Zelensky admitted that the numbers are not enough to fend off Russia and more training is needed to operate more of the American aircraft.

We are now in a new phase of development for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We have done a lot to transition the Ukrainian Air Force to a new aviation standard – Western combat aviation. From the beginning of this war, we have been talking with our partners about… pic.twitter.com/z21yTU0Hjo

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 4, 2024

The ISW echoed his statement, saying Kyiv “will need a substantial number of F-16s” to field them “at the scale necessary for Ukraine to succeed in integrating fixed-wing aircraft into its wider air defense umbrella.”

The war-torn nation is expected to receive 20 F-16 fighter jets by the end of the year.

The post Ukraine Needs to Destroy Russian Air Defenses to Use F-16s: Think Tank appeared first on The Defense Post.