Russia shifts to mass use of drones: strategic aviation has almost exhausted its resources.

According to ТСН: Russia is increasingly resorting to the mass use of combat drones due to serious technical problems in its strategic aviation. Many of the planes used for missile attacks on Ukraine have already exhausted their operational resources.

This was reported by Anatolii Khratchynskyi, the director of a defense enterprise and an officer of the Air Forces reserve, during a broadcast on the "KYIV24" channel.

The expert emphasized that the shift to active use of drones is mainly caused by the failures of Russian aviation in executing tasks.

“Let’s note that the recent massive shelling was thwarted because strategic aviation could not operate effectively. Most airplanes of the Russian strategic aviation have already exhausted 80% of their resources,”

He also pointed out that this does not mean a complete abandonment of bombers by the enemy. Russia will try to keep them operational by using remaining spare parts; however, the intensity and effectiveness of their use have already decreased significantly.

Compensation through drone strikes

To compensate for aviation problems, the Russian Federation is trying to make up for lost capabilities through the use of combat drones. Khratchynskyi emphasized that modern drones are significantly different from those used at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

New modifications of the "Shahed" drones have received several important improvements:

• the presence of stable communication;
• the ability to change the target point directly during flight;
• the ability to adjust the route in real-time;
• the ability to perform tasks under difficult weather conditions.

Moreover, the economic aspect also influences the change in tactics. The production of drones is significantly cheaper than missiles, but the damage they can cause may be equivalent.

“Conditionally, a 'Shahed', which costs 50 thousand dollars, causes damage equivalent to, for example, a missile of the X-101 class,”

Khratchynskyi stressed that Russia continues to fight with an advantage in numbers. Since drones are relatively inexpensive means of attack, the opponent is interested in mass production to overwhelm the Ukrainian air defense system and cause maximum damage.

It is worth noting that recently, people's deputy Serhii Nahornyi warned of possible difficulties for Ukraine's energy system in the coming days, as an increase in electricity consumption is expected against the backdrop of significant cooling. This could give Russia the opportunity to launch massive strikes against energy facilities during the frost.

Thus, the use of drones is becoming an important element of Russia's strategy in the war, leading to a change in tactics and posing new challenges for Ukrainian defense. This deficiency in the enemy's air forces may further affect the course of combat actions and Ukraine's energy stability.