Russia is copying cruise missile tech onto its $50,000 drones to deal with Ukraine's jamming
Ukraine's intelligence directorate is seeking information about a new optical system found on Russia's latest Gerans.
Screenshots via Telegram/GUR Ukraine is warning about a new navigation system on Russian Gerans called the Susanin.
It uses a camera and a pre-saved library of images of Ukraine's terrain to fly independently.
The capability, similar to a tech on cruise missiles, could help Gerans completely bypass jamming.
Last week, Ukraine's defense intelligence directorate put out a call for information on a device newly found in Russia's latest killer drones.
The "Susanin," a small cylinder with a camera lens, is an optical system that enables Russia's long-range drones to navigate Ukraine's skies without relying on satellite or radio signals.
Should Moscow deploy them at scale, the modules would introduce a major new challenge for Kyiv, allowing Russian one-way drones to bypass jamming — a key pillar of Ukraine's air defense network.
Per the intelligence directorate, or GUR, the Kremlin has been fitting them onto the turbojet Geran-4 and Geran-5 K5 , which fly at 280 mph or faster and are seeing growing use by Russia this year.
These drones are already significantly harder for Ukraine to destroy by force, since they outpace typical Ukrainian interceptor drones .
The Susanin works by storing images of Ukraine's terrain on the drone, then, while in flight, using a downward-facing camera to observe the ground and compare the live feed to the pre-saved imagery.
Using these comparisons, the drone can independently determine its position and how to reach its target.
"Even Google Earth imagery is sufficient for basic orientation," wrote Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a prominent drone analyst connected with Ukraine's military, on Sunday.
Beskrestnov warned that Russia would likely continue actively developing Susanin systems for its drones by next year.
"Our enemy already uses such systems on small Molniya, V2U, and Lancet drones," he added.
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