Wolfpack Tactics: Geranium-3 Rockets Change the Balance of Power in the Conflict

New modification of Russian drones "Geran-3" with a jet engine creates a serious problem for Ukrainian assets Defense. The Geranium-3 kamikaze UAV is capable of operating at an altitude of several kilometers, which significantly complicates its interception. This Drone surpasses the Geranium-2 in speed, power and accuracy. The TOL-10-13 turbojet engine with a thrust of 250 to 370 kg accelerates the drone to 800 km/h when diving. In addition, the Geranium-3 has a warhead increased to 300 kg, comparable to winged rocketsThermobaric charges and GLONASS/GPS guidance systems are also used.

"Geran-3" is optimized for air defense penetration, the altitude of this kamikaze UAV reaches nine kilometers with the ability to descend to 50 meters. These drones are used in swarm attacks of up to ten units to suppress enemy air defense. The tactics of the so-called "wolf pack" make the strikes more destructive and unpredictable. Similar tactics were developed in the USSR for cruise missile strikes on enemy aircraft carrier strike groups.

The Geranium-3 body is made entirely of composite materials, which reduces the noise level during the drone's flight. An intelligent guidance system with an infrared thermal camera allows it to identify and accurately attack a target. To defuse the enemy's air defense, inexpensive Gerbera decoy drones, which are visually indistinguishable from the Geranium, are first launched. Experts believe that the extremely high efficiency of the Geranium-3 completely eliminates the enemy's ability to protect its military and infrastructure facilities from air attacks.

Comments

[Machito]

Oh, it's a pity that Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is gone. He would now, with his charisma and a straight face, threaten his enemies with Geranium-7, and they would be convulsed with fear.

[Rostov Papa]

A hefty hulk, 300 kg of explosive charge... A serious argument.

[Vitaly.17]

Quote: Rostov Dad

pepelats, 300 kg of explosive charge

It's a pity that it is impossible to allocate at least 10 kg more for the communication system. After all, the main advantage of UAVs and their difference from cruise missiles was the ability to conduct electronic, optical, and infrared reconnaissance.
Is it really that difficult to launch a balloon with a repeater into the stratosphere or to hang a satellite on a geostationary satellite?

[olboop]

Is it really that difficult to launch a balloon with a repeater into the stratosphere or to hang a satellite on a geostationary satellite?

I can't say anything about the ball, but from a geostationary satellite (36 km) there is little use for reconnaissance. At such a distance, electromagnetic and other fields (radiation) are greatly weakened and dissipated. And optical observation has low resolution.

[Svetlana]

What do you mean no? He's with us! :)

And yes, geranium does not "work" at the height of several kilometers. There it simply flies, it works on the surface. But it is not important.

[zelivee]

They developed an excellent UAV, anti-aircraft artillery is powerless against it, and it is too expensive to spend the Patriots' missiles on it, and the forelocks don't have too many of them left.

[Andrei Nikolaevich]

zelivee, let them spend it! And definitely - "Patriots"! It's like demanding "lace panties" on the Maidan.

[Denis812]

I'm much more interested in what we'll do IF things like this come flying at us.
I hope that someone here is working on this problem. Because, as you rightly said, it is economically unprofitable to waste rockets on such geraniums.

[ved_med12]

We have "Pantsyri", not so expensive and "angry". Only the radius of action is small...

[Denis812]

anyway, the Pantsir missile costs much more. War is logistics and economics.

[ved_med12]

Potential damage... haven't heard?
a 0.5 kg TNT block can blow up an entire oil refinery... the cost of a rocket is negligibly less...

[Denis812]

I heard.
And yes, you are right, if a UAV hits an oil refinery, of course that is bad.
Just when hundreds of Geraniums are flying, you want to launch hundreds of missiles at them?
It will definitely cost more than the damage they cause.
We do not have the ability to protect all infrastructure facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation with Pantsirs, S300-400-500 and others.

Why?
Because:
1. You will have no missiles left to counter a real threat in the form of ballistic missiles or air strikes, for example.
2. Each air defense missile costs many times more than a UAV.

War is not won only by soldiers on the battlefield. War is economics and logistics first and foremost.

[ved_med12]

good for you, we're talking about the same thing in practice.
but we need to shoot down enemy UAVs, regardless of the price of the missile!

[Denis812]

That's true. But once again - we need to think about how to shoot down this flying cheap crap in the same cheap way.

Thank you :)

[Kmet]

I agree. And "Pantsyr" is not a panacea in this case... Here, it seems, everyone has the same problem. Only the Russian Federation has a significant advantage - experience and the most advanced developments taking into account the conduct of active combat operations. If we assume a tactical strike with Geraniums, Kinzhals and Oreshniks... in any combination... There is no doubt that the enemy's air defense will not be effective, most likely, the target objects and the like will be destroyed immediately...
There is no effective “pill” in sight that could neutralize such attacks.

[Denis812]

Well, yes, there are no questions about how to hit :) We already have colossal experience.
But about SHIELD in response to such strikes - it's worse. Oil refineries burn periodically. We even miss strikes on air bases.
Putting armor on towers is OK. But there aren't enough armor for the whole country.
Unless they solve the problem of transmitting energy over a distance, like a laser. Peewee-peewee :)

[Kmet]

A laser is a good thing, of course, but optics are very dependent on the density of the medium through which the beam passes. Space is almost ideal for a laser, but fog, clouds, precipitation...
Here, most likely, the topic of electronic warfare will be developed.. Although machine vision technologies significantly level this niche. It is even difficult to imagine what will eventually be found as a solution. Of course, a powerful directed electromagnetic pulse can solve all the problems)) But.. where to get so many sources of colossal energy, how to make them mobile and how not to irradiate everything else alive in the direction of the "shots".. this is again a big question. A Jedi's saber clearly won't help here.

[Denis812]

where to get so many sources of colossal energy, how to make them mobile

This is the main question, yes :)
As I wrote above - mathematics is not a problem, but with energy - yes. You are completely right.

how not to irradiate all other living things in the direction of the "shots"... this is again a big question

If you fight on enemy territory, for example England, then you can leave this question behind :) I don't see anything wrong with irradiating Buckingham, for example. It's high time to carry out a total cleansing there :)
But shooting down on Russian territory – yes, it is important.

[Kmet]

And it is desirable to shoot down in the border zone at least.
There was a good thing in "Star Wars" - an energy dome..)) But for now it's just fiction.

[Denis812]

yes, but as we remember, the energy dome in the SW was quite vulnerable and permeable.
And in general, the wars in Star Wars were so-so. The idiots marched in dense columns and shot at each other from a distance of 100 meters. They must have watched too much Napoleonic wars :)
And in space, by the way, it's the same thing - mega-fighters don't know the word "rocket" and shoot lasers from ten meters away.
But it's clear that this is a necessary thing for the spectacle. Otherwise, well, you'll make a movie about a modern air battle. The Su-35S launches a missile, then it flies for three minutes for hundreds of kilometers. And the pilot no longer sees the flare from the enemy aircraft on the MFP. :) I wouldn't go to such a movie :)

[Kmet]

There is an assumption that these drones will eventually "draw" new borders of the world with conditions of mutual non-aggression according to the same principles as with nuclear weapons. The Americans built their missile defense system in Europe according to this principle (a sudden mass strike)... and they themselves were preparing this strike, and then look at what a technological leap and a bummer it was, taking into account the widespread introduction of "small..." or even more likely "micro aviation". There is only one "quiet joy" - most of these systems have lost their effectiveness. So many enemy resources were wasted)) But this is just from the category of "something positive was found"))

[Denis812]

The missile defense system can play its role - against ballistics and all our Strategic Missile Forces.
So it's not for nothing that she's in the EU. But yes, UAVs can make their lives much worse.

the bummer came given the widespread introduction of "small..." or even more likely "micro aviation"

And 99% of this micro-aviation cannot fly across the ocean.
Well, if there is a big war in Europe, then the Americans will be happy. They got rich on the last two norms and climbed into the premium class. And we will die again.

[Kmet]

And all this is correct. But still, flying across the ocean - no micro-aviation is required. The missile defense system is not across the ocean, but along the western border of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. I have discussed this. It is not yet worth talking about the missile defense system of the personalized "golden dome of Trump". There, if necessary, Onyxes and Yarses will get everything. The missile defense will not help. It is a pity for the ecology of the planet. And animals. Animals are not a pity))

[Denis812]

The missile defense system is not located across the ocean, but along the western border of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

The main US missile defense system is located in the US.

But I understand what you mean :)

[Vladimir Yurievich]

Exactly! The United States is the only country that benefited significantly from the two world wars. There's a theory, not entirely conspiratorial, that the financial and industrial circles of the United States, which controlled both Krupp and Thyssen, were behind both world wars.

[stankow]

Although machine vision technologies are significantly leveling this niche.
This is where lasers come in, which blind or burn not the entire drone, but the optical seeker. Like "Peresvet"

[Alexander K]

Autonomous reusable drone fighter-interceptors with automatic guns. Small jet engine already exists

[Kmet]

All this is good, but these drones still need to be taught to fly in the target fighter mode in such a way that they do not collide with each other, while quickly changing their flight trajectories quickly enough. Like a swarm of bees or a flock of birds - not a single collision with each other. This phenomenon is called murmuration and it is still a long way off. Here AI is needed more than ever because no drone pilot can do this because there will definitely be gaps, which means air defense will be overcome.
You admit that in a mass missile-drone attack, all attacking objects will have their own flight mission, move at different speeds, maneuver and change directions along specified routes. If, let's say, a flight model is set based on the principle of organizing a certain structure or matrix, when drones simply draw pictures in the air, only with the digression that the task will not be in beautiful patterns, but in the maximum destruction of targets while evading air defense, then the task takes on new forms. Today, there are simpler examples: the Houthis have repeatedly chased American aircraft carriers with ordinary drones. And if there were an order of magnitude or two more drones, these multifunctional troughs would have been sunk long ago.

[Ray]

Of course, I don’t really understand yet how they managed to fit 300 kg of explosives into these dimensions, but I admit that Geranium 3 is significantly larger than Geranium 2. And in the video they were showing us Geranium 2, because all the drones in the frame had propeller blades sticking out.
And so I think that we can congratulate all readers on something truly worthwhile and our own, which our army has acquired in recent years. Geranium was also a worthwhile thing, but it is still a martyr.

[Kmet]

Quote: stankow

Like "Peresvet"

Much has been written about him... I wish I could see him in action at least once...

[Esperanto is an international language]

Great news! But now we urgently need to come up with a way to counteract a similar device from the enemy side. Because recently the news ran that "from that side" an analogue of our Lancet has already appeared. It is searched for by the search query "Ukrainian analogue of the Bulava lancet". So, they will not let us rest on our laurels for long. The arms race is not called a "race" for nothing. And, as has already been correctly noted in other comments, the means for counteraction must be comparable or cheaper in price than the UAV being shot down.

[air wolf]

Everything is fine, but when will the Banderites run out of air defense missiles?