Russia Puts MANPADS Crews on Cherry Pickers to Defend Moscow From Ukrainian Drones

Russian forces have begun using truck-mounted aerial lifts as improvised mobile air defense positions around Moscow, placing troops armed with portable surface-to-air missiles high above the ground to intercept Ukrainian drones, according to Militarnyi, citing the Russian VChK-OGPU channel on October 14.

The channel reported that large numbers of the vehicles have recently been moving around the outskirts of the Russian capital.

Video footage appears to show mobile fire teams standing on elevated platforms with Verba and Igla man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS.

Unlike fixed firing positions, the aerial lifts can be moved quickly to areas where Russian forces expect drones to approach.

Once deployed, the platforms raise missile operators above surrounding buildings, trees, and other obstacles, potentially giving them a clearer line of sight and a wider field of fire against low-flying targets.

Similar footage had previously surfaced showing a Russian serviceman armed with a MANPADS standing on one of the elevated platforms, suggesting the concept has moved beyond an isolated experiment.

At the same time, VChK-OGPU claimed that fewer Pantsir air defense systems are now visible at fixed positions around Moscow, including some of the units previously installed on building rooftops.

The channel suggested that those static deployments may have proven less effective than expected against Ukrainian drone attacks, although that assessment has not been independently confirmed.

Moscow is already protected by one of Russia’s densest layered air defense networks. The system includes Pantsir-S1 gun-and-missile complexes, S-400 long-range air defenses, and shorter-range Tor systems, supported by more than 100 prepared positions around and within the capital.

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War in Ukraine

Moscow Turns to Makeshift Rooftop Air Defenses as Ukrainian Drone Threat Reaches Capital

May 28, 2026 12:24

Russia has also constructed dozens of towers and other dedicated structures around Moscow for air defense equipment, as Ukrainian long-range drones have repeatedly demonstrated an ability to reach the capital and its surrounding region.

Tonight, nearly 500 Ukrainian attack drones reportedly targeted Moscow and the surrounding region, in what Russian state media described as one of the largest drone attacks on the Russian capital in the past two years.

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