How Ukraine’s Lightweight Drones Keep Crippling Russia’s Billion-Dollar Air Defenses in Crimea

Ukrainian forces are consistently targeting and disabling Russian air defense systems in occupied Crimea using relatively lightweight drones carrying warheads of up to 15 kilograms.

These attacks have proven effective in disabling high-value radar components, despite the limited payload size.

According to Defense Express on April 30, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have transitioned to conducting systematic and effective strikes against Russian air defense positions using unspecified loitering munitions.

While earlier strikes were primarily documented by Russian forces at night, recent images show daytime evidence of damage to two radar systems, reportedly part of the S-400 air defense system, following an April 25 strike near the town of Saky.

One of the radar units appears to be a 96L6 all-altitude detector, used for target detection and tracking and often integrated into the S-400 system.

Another photo shows what is likely a 91N6 radar (or possibly the older 64N6 variant), distinguished by its phased array antenna, which provides long-range surveillance and is a core component of the S-400 at the battalion level.

Visible damage to the radar arrays in both cases suggests the equipment has been rendered inoperable and will require specialized repair at dedicated facilities. Despite the scale of destruction not appearing total, the strikes likely achieved the operational goal of disabling the systems.

The specific drones used in the attack were not identified. However, similar operations in Crimea have previously been attributed to the “Pravyla” unit of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, which has claimed multiple successful strikes on Russian radar and surface-to-air missile systems.

Based on available visual evidence and remnants shown by Russian sources, the loitering munition used could be the Ukrainian-made “Rubaka” drone.

This platform reportedly has a range of up to 500 kilometers and can carry a warhead weighing between 2 and 15 kilograms. The recent attack suggests that even at the upper limit of this payload capacity, such drones are capable of disabling complex radar systems.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian forces used a drone to strike a Russian P-15 (or upgraded P-19) radar system in Russia’s Kursk region, disabling the Soviet-era low-altitude surveillance unit.

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