Russians Start Using New Direction to Launch Shaheds

The Ukrainian Air Force reported the launch of Shahed-type strike drones from the direction of Shakhty in the Rostov region. According to monitoring channels, this is already the 13th known launch site.

This was reported by the monitoring channel eRadar.

The first reports of the launch of attack drones from this direction came from the Air Force after a massive missile and drone strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on the night of October 10. On the afternoon of October 11, launches from this direction were repeated. This indicates that this was not a one-time use of mobile launchers, but a new direction for the use of strike drones.

It should be recalled that during the massive missile and drone attack on September 28, launches of Shahed-type strike UAVs from the Kacha airfield on the western coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea were recorded for the first time.

Since this airfield is located on the western coast of Crimea and borders the Black Sea, it significantly reduces the flight time of strike UAVs to the territories of Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions.

The channel notes that drones launched from this location attacked a winery in the Odesa region, and the flight time from launch to impact was only 40 minutes. Considering that the distance between the launch and impact sites is almost 300 kilometers, it is likely that jet versions of the Shahed were used.

In general, there are several types of launchers known to be used by the Russians: semi-stationary catapults, mobile launchers for launching drones with rocket accelerators, and launchers mounted on vehicles.