Image: Aleksey Peslyak / TASS
A US Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane operated unmanned aerial vehicles that attacked Russia’s Hmeymim airbase in Syria, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Alexander Fomin said at a plenary session of the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on security on October 25.
“Thirteen drones moved according to common combat battle deployment, operated by a single crew. During all this time the American Poseidon-8 reconnaissance plane patrolled the Mediterranean Sea area for eight hours,” Colonel General Alexander stated, according to TASS.
“When these 13 drones faced our electronic warfare screen, they moved away to some distance, received the corresponding orders and began to be operated out of space and receiving help in finding the so-called holes through which they started penetrating. Then they were destroyed.“
The deputy defense minister emphasized that the drones, which met with the electronic countermeasures, switched to a manual guidance mode.
“Manual guidance is carried out not by some villagers, but by the Poseidon-8, which has modern equipment. It undertook manual control,” Colonel General Fomin said. “This should be stopped as well: in order to avoid fighting with the high-technology weapons of terrorists and highly-equipped terrorists it is necessary to stop supplying them with equipment.”
Militants massively used drones in the attack on the Russian Hmeymim airbase and the Russian naval base in Tartus in Syria for the first time on January 6. Seven drones were downed, and control over six drones was gained through electronic warfare systems.
Following the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the solutions used by the militants could be received only from a technologically advanced country and warned about the danger of repeating such attacks around the world.
During the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, Colonel General Fomin also adressed the issue of supplies received by terrorists from foreign states.
“There is a need to put an end to the provision of money, weapons, equipment and various substances to terrorists, including chemical ingredients used during the so-called chemical attacks that are later blamed on the Syrian government,” the deputy defense minister said. “Our experience proves that terrorists have the most modern weapons and communication means, including space-based tools.”
The defense official noted that most of these tools and means were produced in foreign countries, particularly NATO member states.
