Ukraine Pulled Ex-Soviet Recon Drones Out Of Storage, Added Bombs And Sent Them Toward Russia

[Kennah]

Source: Forbes

The drones that Ukrainian forces used to strike two Russian bomber bases 300 miles inside Russia on Monday weren’t the satellite-controlled, missile-armed Bayraktar TB-2s that Ukraine acquired from Turkey.

No, they reportedly were Tupolev Tu-141s, ex-Soviet antiques that last saw front-line use in the 1980s, flying photo-reconnaissance missions for the Soviet air force.

As developments of the first-generation recon drones that the U.S. Air Force deployed in the Vietnam War, the jet-propelled Tu-141 wasn’t very sophisticated by 1980s standards. It’s even less sophisticated today.

But it’s simple, speedy and big enough to haul a warhead weighing hundreds of pounds, making it much more powerful than a TB-2 with its 49-pound missiles. The Tu-141 works. So it should come as no surprise that the Ukrainians are sending their Tu-141s on one-way missions to blow up Russian bombers.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/12/05/ukraine-pulled-ex-soviet-recon-drones-out-of-storage-added-bombs-and-sent-them-hurtling-toward-russia/?sh=2e6b7d2a3348

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Wicked repurposing by Ukraine.

And pathetic that Soviet era antiques aren't being stopped by Russian air defenses.

[ZonkerHarris]

1. Ukrainians are MacGyvering this war with some velcro and tech antiques.

[Hekate]

5. Yes, I do believe they are

[electric_blue68]

13. Don't forget - Masking Tape! 👍 😉 Slava Ukraini!

[Ilsa]

18. Duct tape! That's the strong stuff.

You can build a bridge if you just have some duct tape.

[electric_blue68]

19. Dang! Ty. 😄 I KNEW it Didn't Sound quite Right but couldn't figure it out. DUCT Tape it IS, then!

[sprinkleeninow]

22. 'The Red Green Show' Red Green is out of duct tape...

[electric_blue68]

24. 😄 TY!...

How does it go....


If it doesn't move, and it's supposed to use WD-40.

If it moves, and it's not supposed to use Duct tape.
👍

[sprinkleeninow]

27. 😆

[KS Toronado]

36. A race car owner back in the '60s

always called it "The 120 MPH Tape" after his hood latch got damaged and they duct taped the hood down.
And it can't fix stupid but it can muffle the sound

[electric_blue68]

37. Heh! There was that meme back in late Spring '20 w Dr Faucci & a duct taped

over the mouth drumph. 😄

[KS Toronado]

40. LOL, I remember that one

[electric_blue68]

43. TY! 😄 I couldn't quite remember the text. Truth! 👍

[jmowreader]

48. In the Army we called it 100MPH tape

That's because you could stick something to the side of a helicopter with it, fly 100MPH, and it wouldn't fall off.

[robbob]

52. As the saying goes: If you can't fix it with duct tape...

…you haven’t used enough duct tape…

[BWdem4life]

29. You need cardboard too.

I can make anything out of duct tape and cardboard.

[AllaN01Bear]

49. dont forget zipties , twine . bailingwire and chicken wire, oh i almost forgot , bubble gum.

yes bubble gum.

[calimary]

25. Hey, whatever works!

Besides, if it’s”McGyver’d” together, I suspect that will be more challenging to figure out and attempt a response.

[LudwigPastorius]

2. Primitive cruise missiles!

I like it. That's thinking outside the box.

[Sogo]

3. This is starting to resemble a cartoon....

[iluvtennis]

4. Really like their "think outside the box" solutions. Excellent. n/t

[Wounded Bear]

6. So, they were just returning Russian equipment to their rightful owners...

[niyad]

7. Your last sentence is disturbing.

[Kennah]

9. I'm elated the Russians are performing so poorly, just a bit shocking still

[EarnestPutz]

15. I'm shocked and elated too. Have you had the thought, like I have, that a Russian land war in.....

......Europe has really exposed the weakness of their military? Both the equipment and the personnel, and perhaps especially the command and leadership. It bears no resemblance to a Tom Clancy-esque military juggernaut that we've been conditioned to expect.

[Kennah]

17. Very true

Even before this, I recall in recent years talking with people about the capabilities of both Russia and China. When people fret about "Red Dawn", I point out that even back in the 1980s, the USSR did not have the capabilities to deliver heavy equipment to the US.

Some elite troops parachuting out of commercial aircraft, okay. Still very much a stretch, but ok.

But parachuting T80 tanks into the US? Or the military might of South and Central America invading? Puh-leeze.

Today, if Russia and China combined their efforts, they could invade Canada and send troops south into the US. The Border Patrol might have enough firepower to stop them. And every tank at every base in the western states would be moving on the Interstates to stop them. To go clean up whatever is left after bombers flatten them.

Russia's only real threat is nuclear.

Now China is much more of a threat, but they are still no match for the US.

[EarnestPutz]

28. Couldn't agree more. Even the part about the Border Patrol.

[jmowreader]

50. There's one LITTLE problem with that theory

The only US Armor units close enough to the border to solve the problem are a National Guard battalion in Puyallup, WA (south of Seattle) and one in Kalispell, MT. But...since what we'd almost certainly get are infantry units using stolen dump trucks as personnel carriers, there is plenty of infantry up here who could do the job. And our good friend Mother Deuce the .50-caliber machine gun - which infantry units have a lot of - would solve the problem with no issues.

[Kennah]

51. I think all of the JBLM tanks are now in Oregon

but I can't imagine the Russians able to put tanks anywhere but Europe

[niyad]

30. It is indeed.

[grantcart]

8. It's important to keep cleaning out storage and return left items to their original owner.

[Kennah]

10. I can only imagine what they write on the missiles

[msongs]

11. so what happens to nukes on a bomber struck by a drone? hmmm nt

[Kennah]

12. They are supposed to be fairly safe

Soviet technology probably isn't a great safeguard, but my rudimentary understanding of nuclear fission seems to say we're safe

[sarisataka]

32. The days of keeping bombers

At the ready with armed nukes is behind us, at the moment.

Even if they were armed, it takes a precise process to trigger a nuclear detonation. The conventional explosives in a bomb would go off and the nuclear material would be scattered. A mess but not a disaster.

[AverageOldGuy]

14. When do they send one . . . .

crashing into Putin's office windows?

[ProudProgressiveNow]

16. KR NT

[Historic NY]

20. Just sending them back home to Mother Russia

with a present for Vlad.

[Warpy]

21. I just remember some Ukrainian fighters standing by a big pile of captured artillery shells

and promising Russia that they'd be returned soon. Yes, the grins were evil.

Considering how much shit the Russians have abandoned when their lines have collapsed. I have to wonder how many of the 90,000+ Ukraine has claimed have been killed were killed by the stuff they left behind.

Plus, the more you learn about this war, the worse it gets and the more you know Russia won't survive in its present form.

Putin has too much to answer for. Russians are starting to ask the questions, too.

[fierywoman]

23. Forgive my ignorance, but is it possible that the Russians could have -- via radar -- seen these

drones coming toward them and read/identified them as being one of theirs?

[getagrip_already]

35. IFF wasnt a big thing to the soviets in the 80's.......

It's possible they spotted them on radar and were confused where they came/from or were going. But even if they wanted to shoot them down, they had moved most of the air defense pods (s300/s400) to ukraine to be used as ground pounding missiles.

But more than likely the radar operators were drunk or sleeping. And their commanders were likely mia.

So, pretty much the old saying goes: "We are luky they are so friggin stupid".......

[fierywoman]

42. Thanks!

[William Seger]

44. Russians claim to have shot down Tu-141s before

... and considering they're subsonic and can't do evasive maneuvers, shooting them down should be pretty easy. It seems Ukraine has been trying to do one of these attacks since last spring, but this was apparently the first one that scored hits.

[fierywoman]

47. Thanks for the info. I never thought I was bloodthirsty until this Russian bs broke out!!!

[EX500rider]

53. But just barely subsonic

Tupolev Tu-141: top speed: 684 mph
Mach 1: around 761 mph

[LudwigPastorius]

46. These drones are small targets that were flown in low to the ground.

That makes them difficult to "see" with ground based radar.

The Russians know that Ukraine doesn't have conventional cruise missiles, so they weren't actively looking for this type of attack.

[ancianita]

26. Ukrainian badassery!

Outdated, out of sync weaponry has its stealth uses.

Maybe that's why some of our missile systems still run on floppy disks.

[ChazInAz]

31. Dear old Shakespeare said it well.

"Hoist on his own petard..."

[Grimelle]

33. LMAO!!!

[FredGarvin]

34. Forbes just repeating Russian claims

Russians are embarrassed that Ukraine has developed its own drone.

These drones were not ex-Soviet garbage, but newly designed weapons systems.

[sarisataka]

38. Do you have information

That Ukraine is not using TU-141s but has developed a brand new system?

Please share.

[KS Toronado]

39. Whatever they are new or old

They need to go after Russian oil refineries, electric power stations, water treatment plants all deep inside Russia
so the Russian people will experience first hand that Putler is getting his ass kicked. We know Russian State Media
isn't painting an honest picture of what's really happening in the war. If enough of them had to go without food,
gas, water, electricity, etc. we might see an uprising to kick him out of office.

[Kennah]

41. If it's Russian propaganda

I'm seeing a fail in it. Soviet era recon drones implemented in the 1970s are being MacGyvered and turned into cruise missiles. Seems to heap praise on the Ukrainians.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

45. Creative