MOSCOW – Russia has warned that terrorists have acquired advancedtechnologies on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and can conduct dronestrikes all over the world.
The head of the UAV department of the Russian General Staff said onThursday that the threat of terrorists using drones for attacks was not anunlikely scenario, citing strikes on two Russian bases in Syria earlierthis month.
Major General Aleksander Novikov said a technical assessment of the dronesused in the assaults showed the “emergence of a real threat of the UAV usefor terrorist purposes anywhere in the world, which requires the adoptionof appropriate measures for its neutralization.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 13 drones targetedthe Hmeimim airbase in Latakia Province and the naval facility in the portcity of Tartus on January 6.
It said Russian forces repelled the assaults by shooting down seven of thedrones and gaining electronic control over six others and safely landingthem. The drone attacks caused no damage.link>
Elsewhere in his remarks, Novikov pointed out that the coordinates used forthe drone attacks were much more precise than those available on theinternet.
“The production of such deadly machines requires superior professionalknowledge, practical skills and experience in operating drones,” he said.
The Russian general further stressed that until recently, terrorists used”primitive” drones only for reconnaissance activities, but they beganto employ foreign-made quadcopters for different purposes in Syriain mid-2016.
“The research showed that the avionics equipment mounted on the drones[used in the Syria attacks] facilitated their fully automated preprogrammedflight and bombing, ruling out any jamming,” Novikov said.
The explosives carried by the drones could have been manufactured in anumber of countries, including Ukraine, he added.