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Russia is increasingly forced to use expensive air defense systems such as the Pantsir, S-300, and S-400 against Ukrainian drones because it lacks sufficient dedicated counter-drone capabilities, former head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service Mykola Malomuzh said, UATV English reports.
Speaking to FREEДOM TV, Malomuzh said Russia has failed to deploy enough specialized anti-drone air defense systems and is therefore relying on missile systems originally designed to intercept aircraft and missiles.
“Russia is unable to deploy anti-drone air defense systems quickly enough. As a result, it is forced to use older missile systems. However, these systems cannot automatically engage large numbers of targets simultaneously. In this area, Russia is lagging behind. It has to use systems such as the Pantsir and other missile complexes that were designed to intercept missiles and aircraft, not drones,” Malomuzh said.
According to him, this approach imposes a significant financial burden on Russia while also depleting stocks of costly interceptor missiles.
“Hundreds and even thousands of drones are flying toward Russia. Over a month, the numbers reach many thousands, and in the future they could reach hundreds of thousands or even millions annually. Russia simply does not have enough missiles for its Pantsir systems and cannot manufacture them in such quantities,” he said.
Malomuzh added that Russia has also attempted to use S-300 and S-400 air defense systems against drones, despite the high cost of interceptor missiles.
“They tried using S-300 and S-400 systems against drones as well. But every interception costs millions. It is an extremely expensive way to counter relatively inexpensive unmanned aerial vehicles,” he noted.
The former intelligence chief argued that the fact Ukrainian drones continue to penetrate multiple layers of air defenses around Moscow demonstrates the limited effectiveness of relying on strategic air defense systems against mass drone attacks.
He also pointed to Ukraine’s strikes against Russian air defense assets in occupied Crimea.
“We are destroying Pantsir, S-300, S-400, and even S-500 systems. This is particularly evident in occupied Crimea, where we are systematically clearing the peninsula of Russia’s air defense capabilities,” Malomuzh said.
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