Ukrainian drone strikes have forced Russia to completely halt shipping in the Sea of Azov in less than a week, showing once again how a country without traditional naval power can still effectively blockade maritime corridors.

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces have flown one-way attack drones to target and strike more than 100 Russian tankers and other ships in total, along with posting video evidence showing such drone strikes occurring every night between July 6 and July 14. The campaign has forced Russia to completely shut down the shipping route that flows from Russia’s Don River into the Sea of Azov, and to halt all Kerch Strait shipping transits from the Sea of Azov into the Black Sea, according to Reuters reporting.

The shutdown of such maritime lanes has further isolated the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula by cutting off seaborne delivery of fuel in particular. Crimea had already been experiencing severe fuel rationing and power outages as Ukraine stepped up its mid- and long-range drone strike campaign on Russian energy infrastructure and supply lines, leaving behind damaged oil refineries with billowing black smoke and burned-out trucks littering highways.

Read full article

Comments

© Planet Labs PBC

The US military has lost dozens of Reaper drones collectively worth more than $1 billion while carrying out surveillance and attack missions over Iran. Now the Pentagon is seeking large numbers of cheaper drones that can perform such missions despite the expectation that many will be lost in combat.

In a call for industry pitches, the Defense Innovation Unit’s notice described the US military’s current reliance on drones and crewed aircraft, each costing more than $30 million, as being “unsustainable against adversaries utilizing layered defenses enabled by increasingly low-cost antiaircraft capabilities.” It envisions deploying more “cost-effective” drones to “overwhelm enemy air defenses even while experiencing numerous [drone] losses.”

That is, in practice, what Ukraine’s military has been demonstrating with its long- and mid-range strike campaign against Russian supply lines, oil refineries, and various energy or industrial targets within Russia or occupied Ukraine. The Ukrainian campaign has been overwhelming Russia’s overstretched air defense capabilities by launching hundreds of relatively inexpensive drones and missiles on a daily basis to attack targets far behind the frontlines, while continuing to damage or destroy Russia’s most sophisticated air defense systems.

Read full article

Comments

Drone Strikes on Moscow’s Oil Refinery Ukraine struck the Moscow Oil Refinery for the second time in a

European countries are increasing their military spending and defence capabilities not only through new orders but also through

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, no international airports in Ukraine have been operating. When

Once Russia invaded Ukraine, it was buried under a pile of international sanctions. Furthermore, as the years of

Drone‑on‑drone warfare has become one of the defining features of the war in Ukraine. Hundreds of Geran‑2s are

Against its own will, Ukraine is involved in the largest war in Europe since World War Two. And

Ukrainian long-range strike drones are causing major issues to Russia. While the Kremlin is not willing to admit

Russia continues to strike Ukraine with glide bombs. These weapons allow Russian aircraft to remain outside Ukraine’s air‑defence

On the night of June 3rd to 4th, Ukrainian drones were visiting the occupied Crimea. They engaged a

Ukraine is still using a lot of Soviet military equipment, and this is not going to change any

The defenders of Ukraine are doing a tremendous job destroying the majority of the Russian Geran-2 drones with

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Tallinn on Tuesday with an unusual offer for his hosts: the very

Recent conflicts between Israel and Iran, backed by the US, threaten global stability. Concerns arise over escalating warfare and its economic impact, especially on oil prices and currency values, leading to potential skyrocketing gold and silver prices.

The painting "No One Wins a Thermonuclear War" critiques escalating wars in Ukraine and Israel, emphasizing the catastrophic potential of nuclear conflict. It argues that only financial elites benefit from war, while humanity faces annihilation. The artist calls for an end to these conflicts, urging awareness of their dire consequences.

US President Biden has approved the use of NATO long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, raising concerns about escalating conflict and the potential for global war which could go nuclear. This is described by the red horse in the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.

At least four Russian military satellites changed their orbits to match that of a Finnish-American radar surveillance satellite in the last week, raising questions about Russia's intentions amid an ever-expanding standoff high above Earth.

The maneuvers were identified through open source orbital tracking data. Greg Gillinger, a retired Air Force space intelligence officer, revealed the orbit changes Friday in a special edition of his Integrity Flash newsletter, published by Integrity ISR, a private business that provides "combat-proven operational support and elite training that enhances mission success across ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), cyber, space, and targeting domains."

The Russian satellites in question, designated Kosmos 2610 through 2613, launched together on April 16 on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Over the last week or so, the four satellites adjusted their inclinations—the angles of their orbits to the equator—by less than a degree.

Read full article

Comments

© ICEYE