“The Ukrainian ‘Cobra’ Drone: How it Depletes Russian Air Defense Supplies – BLITZ”

The Ukrainian drone “Cobra”, due to its design, is very noticeable to air defense systems, but this is precisely what its creators relied on. Engineer and designer Vitaly Bryzgalov told Focus about the Groshi project.

According to him, the Kryvyi Rih team wanted to create drones that could be made quickly, in large quantities and cheaply. They took the classic approach they use to build manned aircraft and started making UAV bodies out of sheet steel, connecting the parts with rivets. As a result, the production cost of the Cobra drone is about $2,000.

At the same time, the unmanned aircraft with a steel structure is attracting considerable attention from the air defense. The Russians may see the Cobra on the radar or hear the whine of a gasoline engine and attack, but that’s its main purpose.

“Initially, there was only one goal – countering air defense. These are false goals, this is exhausting the enemy so that he spends expensive missiles on cheap drones. Since the supply of missiles is not infinite, in some areas there are 20-30 such drones can completely destroy air defense, then work with more serious, more expensive drones and even manned aircraft. 50 such drones will paralyze any air defense,” Vitaly Bryzgalov said.

The unmanned aircraft “Cobra” can not only provoke enemy fire, but also conduct reconnaissance, detecting Russian air defense systems. If the Russians begin to ignore such drones in order to save missiles, then fighters of the armed forces of Ukraine will be able to load the planes with explosives, turning them into dangerous “kamikazets” or bombers to attack military targets.

Vladimir Bryzgalov and his team learned how to assemble kamikaze drones “Cobra” in just 3 hours. According to the engineer, initially many experts did not understand the idea of ​​creating a UAV from riveted steel, but in the end it was justified. Many components are produced in Ukraine, which significantly reduces production costs.

On April 11, Vitaly Bryzgalov announced that the Cobra drones would fly to Moscow on May 9. According to him, if the devices do not reach the Russian capital together with explosives, then at least they will certainly distract the attention of the air defense.

Translation and editing: BLITZ

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