Experts have identified the Ukrainian drones shot down in Finland in March after an airspace violation as Chaika drones—unmanned aerial vehicles used as decoys.
Initially, the drone had been identified by Finnish forces as the Ukrainian attack drone An-196 Liutyi. The confusion occurred because the system has a very similar shape to the Chaika drone, according to the Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi.
Experts reached this conclusion after a detailed analysis of photographs of the wreckage and comparisons with drones that had previously crashed in various regions of Russia. Analysis of the materials confirmed the use of significantly cheaper components, helping to support the conclusion that it is a decoy drone.
The Chaika drone is about half the size of the An-196 Liutyi, but features a similar propeller and twin-boom tail design. During the flight, the pilot of an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet was unable to accurately assess the drone’s true size due to the high speed of the jet at low altitude, making it difficult to distinguish the target’s dimensions against the background of trees.
This drone is described by experts as a simply designed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made from inexpensive materials and developed for mass production. Ukraine uses low-cost drones as decoys to overwhelm enemy air defense systems.
In March, Chaika drones that had been directed toward Russia were diverted from their route by Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems. As a result, the Ukrainian UAVs ended up in Finland, triggering the launch of Finnish Air Force fighter jets, which quickly decided to shoot down the previously unidentified drones.
Photo: Lentoposti.fi. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
