Moscow Uses Truck-Mounted Aerial Platforms Carrying MANPADS Operators to Counter Drones

Russian forces have started using truck-mounted aerial platforms carrying MANPADS operators to protect Moscow from Ukrainian drone attacks.

The anonymous Russian online community VChK-OGPU reported this.

According to the community, large numbers of these vehicles have been seen moving around Moscow’s outskirts.
The published video shows the platforms being used to position members of mobile fire teams armed with Verba and Igla man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

The vehicles can be quickly deployed to locations where a drone attack is expected, turning them into mobile firing positions.

Earlier, footage had circulated online showing a Russian serviceman armed with a MANPADS on one of these platforms.

Meanwhile, the community has noted fewer Pantsir air defense systems at fixed positions in Moscow, including systems installed on rooftops.

The community suggests that these systems may have proved ineffective against Ukrainian drone attacks when deployed at fixed positions.

Moscow’s air defense network consists of several layers. Its main components are Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and gun systems, S-400 air defense systems, and shorter-range Tor systems.

More than 100 positions for air defense systems are located in and around Moscow. The city also has dozens of specialized towers and other structures built around it to accommodate air defense systems.

Russian forces have also started using MANPADS during large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks.

Videos have circulated online showing these weapons being used on Moscow streets amid civilian traffic, with residents nearby.