Dome Failed: Russians Lose Valdai Anti-Drone Radar in Crimea

The Unmanned Systems Forces conducted a series of strikes on enemy military infrastructure in temporarily occupied Crimea during the night of December 28.

The information was shared on social media by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert ‘Madyar’ Brovdi.

The strikes were carried out by the remote pilots of the 1st Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces (formerly the 14th Regiment), using domestically produced FP-1/2 kamikaze drones.

Several key enemy facilities were targeted. In particular, a site used for the storage and launch of unmanned maritime vessels was struck.

According to the released footage, at least three drones hit this facility.

The destruction of enemy naval drones is critically important in light of an incident in late August, when a Russian naval drone struck the Ukrainian Navy’s medium reconnaissance ship Simferopol.

This marked the first confirmed case of a Ukrainian vessel being hit by an enemy naval drone.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces have previously struck storage sites for Russian unmanned maritime vessels – one such incident was reported on December 24.

In addition, during a recent raid, Ukrainian drones hit a Valdai radar system designed to detect and counter UAVs, which was housed inside a special protective dome.

According to the report, the drones first destroyed the protective casing and then directly struck the radar station itself.

There are also reports of a strike on a command post for a radar reconnaissance system, the exact type of which has not been specified.

It is likely that this refers to the command post of the destroyed Valdai radar complex. All strikes were carried out in the area of the settlement of Chornomorske.

Valday Radar System

The Valday Multi-Role Radar System is equipped with a three-dimensional (3D) X-band radar, along with optical and electro-optical tracking modules.

The system also includes equipment for detecting and direction-finding UAV control links and can be integrated with electronic warfare (EW) systems. This significantly enhances its capabilities for countering drone threats.

The core component of the system is a 3D surveillance radar operating in the X-band, with a wavelength of approximately 3 centimeters.

This radar is responsible for the system’s primary function: detecting aerial targets and forming the radar air picture. The use of the X-band allows more effective detection of small, low-speed objects typical of tactical UAVs.

The minimum detection range of the complex is about 300 meters, enabling operation directly within the close-range defense zone of protected facilities. At the same time, for larger aerial targets, the detection range can exceed 15 kilometers, depending on flight altitude and radar cross-section.

According to available data, the radar of the complex is capable of reliably detecting UAVs of the Mavic or Phantom class at distances of at least 5–6 kilometers.