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Ukrainian Shark drone guides HIMARS strike on Russian troops training ground in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

October 18, 2024

By Ukraine

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Ukrainian forces have once again successfully targeted Russian troops during a training session in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast, demonstrating their growing deep-strike capabilities and the integration of advanced drone technology in modern warfare. Forbes analyzed the attack.

The strike comes just days after a similar attack in the same region, marking at least the seventh such raid on Russian trainees along the 1,200-kilometer front line since February. These attacks have potentially resulted in hundreds of Russian casualties.

According to the Come Back Alive Foundation, on 16 October, Ukraine’s Black Forest drone group utilized a Shark unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to spot a gathering of Russian infantry and sniper trainees within range of Ukrainian artillery. The drone relayed coordinates to a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) battery, which launched a rocket packed with cluster submunitions at the target.

Ukrainian Shark drone guides HIMARS strike on Russian troops training ground in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Black Forest drone group utilizes Shark UAVs to guide HIMARS strikes from 30+ km away.https://t.co/DR6qAH7OBM
TG/Povernys’ Zhyvym pic.twitter.com/LuBLKh6G7k

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) October 18, 2024

A sergeant from the Black Forest group, identified as Petro, told Ukrainian Pravda,

“Artillery has radically transformed thanks to UAVs. Now, the launchers and guns fire one by one, because UAVs allow for precise fire adjustment.”

Forbes notes that the Black Forest group, which recently operated in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, appears to have expanded its operations to the southern front. For the October 16 attack, the drone crews reportedly collaborated with the Ukrainian army’s 128th Mountain Brigade, which has been defending positions in Zaporizhzhia Oblast for the past year.

The Shark drones used in the operation are recent acquisitions designed by Kyiv tech firm Ukrspecsystems, developed as a simplified, mass-producible drone capable of performing reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustment tasks.

With a range of up to 80 km under radio control, the Shark drones complement the M30/31 rockets used by HIMARS systems, Forbes notes. This combination has extended the reach and precision of Ukrainian strikes.

Kostiantyn, a Black Forest officer, told UP,

“We are actually no longer interested in a 20-kilometer range. Our task is, as we call it, is low deep strikes; up to 30 kilometers and beyond.”

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