“章鱼” 系统为乌克兰防空增添额外防御层【RUSI】

COMMENTARYOctopus Adds an Additional Layer to Ukraines AirDefencesDr Jack Watling27 November 20255 Minute ReadThe value of the UK-Ukrainian drone interceptor is not in thecharacteristics of the munition,but in the process that broughtit into being.When Russia set up production of a licensed copy of Irans Shahed-136 calling it the Geran-2 two things became clear.First,the Shahed-136 strikeswere absorbing expensive air defence missiles at an unsustainable rate.Second,the use of these weapons would go up dramatically as Russiainevitably scaled production.This set off a scramble to find cheap ways ofdefeating Russias strike drones.Tracking InnovationsThe initial challenge was to track them as the Gerans flew low,beneath theradar horizon of most defence sites.This allowed more Gerans to arrive at aneventual target than the local air defences could handle.The first loss of aPatriot system in Ukraine was as a result of it simply being overwhelmed by75 successive Gerans.73 were shot down.The Patriot was damaged.The tracking problem was solved with a dense laydown of cheap acousticsensors,along with mobile spotting teams and a digital map that allowed allair defence units to retain a common