Ukraine attacked a strategic plant in the Rostov region with new Shahed type drones

On the morning of July 4, Ukraine launched a strike with a new type of drones on the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in the Rostov region. At least 10 drones were hit on the territory of the enterprise, sources of the Russian Telegram channel ASTRA report.

This morning, footage emerged of strikes on the enterprise and drones flying to the target. One of the videos shows a Ukrainian drone with a design similar to the Iranian-Russian Shahed/Geran-2 drone. However, the drone is equipped with additional control elements in the front and tail of the aircraft.

As noted in the Defense Blog, the drone has a vertical tail stabilizer, reminiscent of the Israeli IAI Harop loitering munition.

According to experts interviewed by the publication, this design allows the Ukrainian drone to significantly increase directional stability and flight correction during targeting, which will allow for more pinpoint hits on enemy targets.

According to Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council, the affected Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant produces critical components for the Russian army, namely sights, rangefinders, thermal imagers, and fire control systems for tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, ships, and aviation equipment.

Recall, the day before, the Ministry of Defense and the American company Swift Beat, LLC signed a memorandum in which they agreed to increase the production of interceptor drones to shoot down Russian strike UAVs. As noted by the head of the defense department, Rustem Umerov, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of drones, which Ukraine will receive this year.