“Shaheeds” with video communication: Russia is switching to drones with online control

Analysis of the remains of downed Geran-2 (“Shahed”) attack UAVs indicates that Russia is using new technological solutions on a mass scale. These include Chinese-made mesh modems and built-in course cameras, which are likely used to guide the drones to the target in real time.

Defense Express received this information from its own sources, who provided photos and confirmation of the use of these components.

In early summer, mesh modems began to appear on experimental Gerber-type UAVs, which are made of foam plastic. But since July, these modules have also been spotted on Geran-2s, strike UAVs of Iranian origin that are widely used by the Russian Federation.

Since August, such cases have been recorded more and more often, and in early September it became clear that this was a serial solution, not individual tests.

On one of the downed Shaheds, analysts finally managed to find a complete set of equipment, including:

Mesh Network modem XK-F358 (probably in the HX-50 modification), manufactured by Xingkai Tech (China);

A course camera, rigidly mounted on the nose of the drone, with a fixed viewing direction – forward.

These cameras are of low quality, probably from security surveillance systems. However, they may be sufficient for:

real-time flight control;

visual route adjustment;

additional targeting in the final phase of the attack.

Installing mesh modems opens up the possibility of creating a network of drones, where each one acts as a signal repeater, ensuring communication with the control point even over long distances.

The key question remains how exactly the Russian Federation ensures the transmission of video signals from drones.

Among the possible options:

use of repeaters installed on the territory of Ukraine – through an agent network;

building an aerial mesh chain of several drones that transmit signals to each other in real time.

The second option is technically possible, but difficult to implement, especially given the countermeasures of Ukrainian electronic warfare and air defense forces.

Recall that enemy Shahed-type strike drones have undergone another modernization – some of the recently shot down drones were found to have installed video cameras.

As reported, a new modification of the Russian V2U drone, which works with artificial intelligence, was spotted on the front. This type of UAV has been used en masse in all directions over the past week.

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