Russia Launches Shaheds From Western Coast of Crimea for the First Time

During the large-scale missile and drone attack on September 28, Shahed-type strike UAVs were launched for the first time from the Kacha airfield on the western coast of Russian-occupied Crimea.

The report came from the eRadar monitoring channel on Telegram.

According to the channel, this is the 12th known location used for Russian-Iranian strike drone launches.

Because the airfield borders the Black Sea, it shortens the flight time for UAVs reaching the Odesa, Kherson, or Mykolaiv regions.

The channel mentioned that the drones launched from this site struc

k a winery in the Odesa region, with a flight time of only 40 minutes.

Given the nearly 300-kilometer distance between launch and impact sites, it is suggested that jet versions of the Shahed may have been used.

Shahed Launchers

Russia employs several types of launchers: semi-stationary catapults, mobile systems with rocket boosters, and vehicle-based platforms.

At permanent “droneports,” large catapults are used, installed in fortified positions. Special runways are also built to accelerate drones before takeoff.

The largest facility for servicing and launching Shahed drones is a “droneport” in Russia’s Oryol region. Scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missiles have struck it several times, but it continues to operate.

Smaller rocket catapults allow launches from unexpected locations, but this method is more costly, requiring solid-fuel boosters.

Since new satellite images show no stationary catapults at Kacha, and given that the airfield is a frequent target of Ukrainian strikes, cars or mobile rocket launchers were likely used there.

In the last week of September, drones of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Ghosts unit struck two An-26 and Be-12 aircraft, as well as a Mi-8 helicopter, at the Kacha airfield.