With characteristic subtlety, Moscow has launched another attack on Kyiv just ahead of the NATO summit. At the time of writing, seven people had been pronounced dead. Once again Moscow had launched drones, cruise missiles, and harder-to-stop ballistic missiles at the Ukrainian capital. This followed another major attack last week, which left 31 dead.
It’s likely that some of the missiles will have been jet-powered drones, a new addition, as the Daily Telegraph recently reported, to Russia’s arsenal. Typical drones travel (relatively) slowly. These do not. Powered by jet engines rather than the propellers of their Iranian ancestors, they can reach speeds of 300 mph.
Who makes those useful engines?
China.
At 300 mph these drones can outrun interceptor drones, which, the Daily Telegraph reports, reach a top speed of just under 200 mph.
Ukrainian officials say Russia is targeting the capital with them at increasing rates in an effort to saturate air defences, forcing Kyiv to expend its most valuable interceptors and leading to gaps that ballistic and cruise missiles can slip through.
Meanwhile, via Defense News:
Latvia and Ukraine plan to build a joint drone manufacturing facility in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia, near the country’s borders with both Russia and Belarus, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said June 29 during a visit to a military base in the region.