In a sharp escalation of its drone campaign targeting strategic industries deep inside Russia, Ukraine seems to have fitted Cessna-style light planes with remote controls, packed them with explosives and flown at least one of them more than 600 miles to strike a Russian factory in Yelabuga, 550 miles east of Moscow.

Ironically, the Russian factory produces—you guessed it—drones.

Russians on the ground recorded the shocking scene as the light plane dove onto the sprawling Alabuga Special Economic Zone industrial campus, where workers assemble Iranian-designed Shahed drones that, just like Ukraine’s DIY Cessna-style drone, can range as far 600 miles with an explosive payload.

        • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          9 months ago

          If you’re peeing out the window, you’re still in plain view of the intercept fighters.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          The openable part of the window on a Cessna is tiny and high up. There’s no way anyone could contort like that plus it’s likely to come back at you.

          I can see opening the door, but you’d likely need a copilot: I don’t know if a simple autopilot could handle that configuration

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              9 months ago

              Plus then they’d have the opportunity to pee bomb various parts of Russia! You’d get volunteers lining up, drinking tons of water before the flight