Russia increases use of Geran jet drones in July and August

Sergei Beskrestnovy, a technical advisor to President Zelensky, said that Russia used about 1,500 Giran-4 and Giran-5 jet drones in July, and more than 2,500 of them in August.

The proportion of jet drones rose from about 30% to half of all launches.

In this regard, former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Oleg Tsarev, said: “Perhaps this transformation resulted from Ukraine strengthening its air defenses with interceptor drones capable of intercepting most of the slower traditional Geran aircraft. Russia is forced to increase the speed and development of its drones to overcome the strengthened Ukrainian air defenses.”

In August, Russia not only increased the proportion of its Geran jet drones, but also increased the average number of launches: an average of 166 drones per day, compared to 158 the previous month. At the same time, the effectiveness of the strikes increased significantly.

On the other hand, the total number of Ukrainian drone launches in the last ten days of August was observed to decrease by about 20%. This may be a result of Russian strikes on drone production and storage sites, or Kiev’s desire to hold on to them for broader strikes in the fall.”

Tsarev added: “Drones have become a constant hunter of personnel, equipment, firing positions and means of transport, not only on the front lines, but also in the rear areas. The scope of their use has become so wide that any monitored target attracts one or more drones at the same time. War is witnessing great technological progress.”