Russia destroys its own air defense system with kamikaze drone

Russian troops reportedly have targeted and blown up its own S-300 air defense system in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.

Russian state media released on 16 November a statement saying: Russian Lancet kamikaze drone hit a Ukrainian 5N63S engagement radar of the S-300PS surface-to-air missile system.

Footage released by the Russian media appears to show the targeting and destruction of the Ukrainian S-300’s radar, but OSINT experts drew attention to the vehicle missing many critical parts, such as power-supply units and a telescoping antenna.

Citing a report from JB Schneider, Militarnyi reported that Russians have destroyed its own mock-up of 5N63S engagement radar with Lancet loitering munition.

In addition, satellite images show that this radar has been in the same place for more than two months, which looks strange in the conditions of fierce battles in that region.

First of all, the expert managed to verify the location of the radar and find the exact geolocation point (47.02903, 33.2402). The vehicle was located in the Kherson region.

According to JB Schneider, the vehicle or its mock-up was destroyed on November 14-15. After all, the video appeared on social media on November 16, and the footage shows that the weather on the day of the shooting was good. Other days approaching November 16 were cloudy for the Kherson region.

What’s more, pictures are widely circulating on social media reportedly showing this radar system with a distinctive Russian Z marking.