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Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Russia's Trojan horse moment and why Ukraine's ‘Operation Spider's Web' upends scope of drone warfare
In an audacious attack that was planned for over a year and half, Ukraine carried out large scale drone attacks on multiple Russian air bases, including one in Siberia that was some 4,000 km away from the frontlines. Under its 'Operation Spider's Web', a swarm of Ukrainian drones were unleashed on June 1 that attacked at least five military airbases deep inside Russia's borders and left some 41 bomber aircraft in flames. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the operation as 'an absolutely brilliant result' and said the Ukrainians' actions will 'undoubtedly be in the history books'. He said planning for the operation began 18 months ago, and those involved 'were withdrawn from Russian territory in time'. The attack comes close on the heels of a stepping up of Russia's bombing of Ukrainian cities and was timed just ahead of crucial talks between the two sides. A new round of peace talks is scheduled to start in Istanbul on June 2. Sources say specialised drones called FPV drones were smuggled into Russia, along with mobile wooden cabins. The cabins were carried by trucks with the drones hidden inside. The cabin roofs opened remotely – and then the drones took off, zoned in on the nearby bases to precisely mount the attacks. Ukraine claimed the attack caused $7 billion in damage, with multiple combat planes destroyed in the attack. The Russian defence ministry on Sunday said Ukraine launched FPV drone attacks on five airbases across the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions, adding that all strikes on the Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur airfields were successfully repelled. '(For) All the long range missiles and fighter jets, but it was 150 drones in shipping containers or trucks that took out a reported 1/3 of Russia's strategic bomber fleet and unmanned surface drones that neutered the Black Fleet. Warfare as we knew it just a decade ago, is over,' according to Alex Plitsas, a nonresident senior fellow with the Middle East Programs' Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative who leads the Initiative's Counterterrorism Project and was formerly associated with Bridgewater Associates and NorthropGrumman. There are at least five reasons why the attack changes the rules of battlefield engagement: It was one of significant raiding actions in modern warfare, given that the mission was planned for 18 months. This differed from the sort of attacks Ukraine has mounted so far – larger fixed-wing drones attacking at night, closer to areas adjoining Russia's border with Ukraine. This upends that pattern entirely, given that small drones were used this time during the day, and this was done far away from the front lines and deep into Russian territory. In Irkutsk province in eastern Siberia, thousands of kilometres away from Ukraine, locals posted footage of small quadcopter drones emerging from the roof of trucks and then flying toward a nearby airfield, followed by the smoke after impact. The attacks at these Russian airfields are said to have destroyed 41 aircraft, including A-50 early-warning planes and Tu-22M3 and Tu-95 strategic bombers, most of which are now out of production and extremely difficult to replace. Russia is estimated to have less than 100 strategic bombers, and around a third of that fleet is impacted with this attack. These attacks were carried out by the SBU, Ukraine's main security agency. The agency released footage in which its chief, Vasily Maliuk, said: 'Russian strategic bombers… all burning delightfully.' Commentators on X aligned to Ukraine's security services indicated that over a 100 quadcopter FPV drones with bombs were smuggled into Russia for the operations. These were then meticulously housed in specially-built wooden cabins, loaded on top of lorries and then released after the roofs of the cabins were retracted remotely. FPV or first-person view drones are smaller in size and have cameras built in on the front, which sends live video to the operator. This enables precise flying and manoeuvrability by the operator from a remote location, almost like an aircraft. The Economist reported that these drones used Russian mobile-telephone networks to relay their footage back to Ukraine, much of which then shared on social media. It is entirely possible that the drivers of the trucks did not know what they were carrying. In that respect, analysts said this operation was similar to the 2022 attack on Kerch bridge, where a bomb concealed in a lorry destroyed part of the bridge linking Crimea with the Russian mainland. The planning was elaborate. A source quoted by The Economist said that the Russians were first encouraged to move more of their planes to particular bases by Ukrainian strikes on other ones. Three days before this drone attack, dozens of planes were moved to the Olenya airfield in Murmansk province, according to reports published at the time. It was precisely here that the most damage was done after the June 1 attack. The fact that Ukraine was able to destroy such a large number of Russia's aircraft deep inside Russia territory demonstrates the effectiveness of such deep-strike programmes and taking the possibilities of drone warfare to another level. According to Thomas Shugart, an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Defense Programme at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and someone who served for over 25 years in the US Navy, where he last worked in the Defense Department's Office of Net Assessment: 'Imagine, on game-day, containers at railyards, on Chinese-owned container ships in port or offshore, on trucks parked at random properties…spewing forth thousands of drones that sally forth and at least mission-kill the crown jewels of the [US Air Force]… would be 'entirely feasible'. The America-specific warning issued by Shugart, who has previously written about the threat to airfields from drones and recommended specifically that key aircraft such as bombers should also have hardened shelters for just this sort of attack, could now resonate across geographies, including India. Anil Sasi is National Business Editor with the Indian Express and writes on business and finance issues. He has worked with The Hindu Business Line and Business Standard and is an alumnus of Delhi University. ... Read More
CNET
6 days ago
- Business
- CNET
PlayStation Days of Play Is Here: The Latest Games Dropping on PS Plus
Every year near the end of May or start of June, Sony holds its PlayStation Days of Play event, where the company hosts community activities and sales for gamers. On Tuesday, as part of Days of Play -- which runs until June 11 -- Sony announced the monthly games available to all PS Plus subscribers in June, as well as bonus Game Catalog titles for the month. PlayStation Plus is Sony's version of Xbox Game Pass, and it offers gaming subscribers a large, constantly expanding library of titles. There are three PlayStation Plus tiers -- Essential ($10 a month), Extra ($15 a month) and Premium ($18 a month) -- each giving subscribers access to games. Although each tier gives subscribers access to monthly games, only Extra and Premium tier subscribers can access the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, which lets you play games whenever you want and not just in that month. Here are the monthly games, bonus PS Plus Game Catalog titles and other games PS Plus subscribers can access soon. You can also check out other games available in the PS Plus Game Catalog now, like Hogwarts Legacy and Blue Prince. Monthly PS Plus games in June Sony brings new games to all three tiers of PS Plus every month but subscribers can play those games for only a few weeks before access expires. Here are the games available to all three tiers in June. Destiny 2: The Final Shape Subscribers can play now. This is expansion content for the popular first-person shooter Destiny 2. Your main goal is to stop the Witness, a powerful being who can command the Darkness-imbued armada, the Black Fleet. The expansion also includes new abilities, a new subclass of characters called "Prismatic" and new weapons and maps. NBA 2K25 Available June 3. A new NBA champion will be crowned soon, marking the end of the 2024-2025 season. But with NBA 2K25, PS Plus subscribers don't have to wait until next season to experience their favorite team taking the court. You can build your dynasty in the MyGM mode, where you're a team's general manager, or you can create your own player and take the court by storm. The choice is yours. Other monthly PS Plus games out June 3 Alone in the Dark Bomb Rush Cyberfunk Bonus games coming to the PS Plus game catalog Sony adds new games to its PS Plus catalog every month but only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play these games. When Sony adds games to the catalog, those subscribers can access them whenever they want, not just that month. Here are some of the games Sony is adding to the catalog soon. Sony said these are bonus games and it'll announce more PS Plus game catalog titles to be added soon. Another Crab's Treasure Available May 29. You know what they say: One man's trash is another crab's treasure, or something like that. This game is like a cross between Elden Ring and the classic game Ecco the Dolphin. You play as a hermit crab who sets off on a quest to buy back its repossessed shell. You'll have to use the trash of the ocean to protect yourself from huge enemies, and you'll also learn why the ocean is so polluted with garbage to begin with. Who knows, maybe you'll see Ariel with her collection of thingamabobs down there. Destiny 2: Legacy Collection Available June 4. Destiny 2 is already a massive game and this edition gives you access to more rewards, a new subclass, more dungeons and the Witch Queen and Lightfall expansions. According to How Long to Beat, these two expansions could add at least 20 additional hours of gameplay to the base game. (Disclosure: How Long to Beat is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) You'll also be able to access additional dungeons, including the Pit of Heresy, Shattered Throne and Grasp of Avarice. Other bonus games coming to the PS Plus game catalog Skull and Bones: Available June 2. Myst: Available June 5.* Riven: Available June 5.* Grand Theft Auto 3: Available June 10. *Premium subscribers only. For more on PlayStation Plus, here's what to know about the service, and here's a rundown of PS Plus Extra and Premium games added in May. You can also check out the latest and upcoming games on Xbox Game Pass and on Apple Arcade.
