Russia is increasing the use of high-speed missile-drones and is gradually transitioning from S-8000 "Banderol" munitions to a newer modification, "Dan-T". In September alone, Russian troops used about 350 weapons of these two types against Ukraine.
The corresponding statement was made by the head of the communications department of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Ihnat, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, published on October 26. This was reported by the authors of the article, Dmytro Oliynyk and Uliana Bezpalko.
According to Ihnat, the Russian defense industry was able to increase the production of such munitions, although the scale of their use remains significantly smaller than that of jet drones such as Shahed.
"Banderol" will already be replaced by a newer version - "Dan-T", - the Air Force representative noted.
At the same time, he noted that there are no grounds yet to talk about Russia's ability to produce these means in the same quantities as jet attack drones. The exact capabilities of Russian enterprises remain unknown.
New munitions approach cruise missiles in characteristics
According to the Air Force, "Banderol" and "Dan-T" belong to high-speed aerial attack means, which in characteristics approach cruise missiles.
Their speed is approximately 600 km/h, and the flight range can reach about 600 kilometers.
A characteristic feature of such munitions is the possibility of launching from aerial platforms. Initially, Russian troops used Orion strike-reconnaissance drones for this purpose, later helicopters.
Ihnat did not rule out that in the future Russia may expand the list of carriers, in particular to start using aircraft. However, he did not provide confirmation of the transition to such a launch method.
According to the Air Force representative, the first cases of "Banderol" use were recorded about a year and a half ago. At that time, it was mostly about isolated launches over the Black Sea towards Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
Now Russian troops use such munitions much more actively, and the newer "Dan-T" is intended to gradually replace the previous modification.
New weapons of destruction increase the load on Ukrainian air defense
Ihnat emphasized that due to the speed and flight characteristics, "Banderol" and "Dan-T" constitute a separate category of threats, which must be countered using anti-aircraft missile systems and electronic warfare means.
The expansion of the use of such weapons creates additional risks for Ukrainian cities, energy facilities, industrial enterprises, and transport infrastructure. Higher speed reduces the time available to air defense units for response.
Earlier, "Kurs Ukrainy" reported that on October 16, Russian troops used 15 high-speed S-8000 "Banderol/Dan-T" munitions throughout the day. Ukrainian air defense then neutralized nine of them.
However, the 350 munitions named by Ihnat for September should not be confused with the total number of jet Shaheds. These are different categories of aerial attack means, which the Air Force accounts for separately.
The command representative did not specify how many of the mentioned 350 munitions were "Banderol" and how many were "Dan-T". Therefore, it is currently impossible to estimate the share of the new modification in the total number of launches.
