It is capable of carrying a cargo weighing 500 kg: Ukraine could attack Tatarstan with a converted Cessna aircraft – Forbes

Ukraine could have used a Cessna light aircraft to attack the Russian Shahed factory in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, which produced the weapon. It could have been equipped with remote controls and explosives.

This was reported by Forbes. It is noted that the fire mushroom that rose into the sky after the aircraft hit an industrial complex indicates a large amount of explosives. The Cessna is capable of carrying a cargo weighing 500 kg and covering distances of 1000 km.

Alok Das, a researcher at the US Air Force Research Laboratory, noted that the Cessna remotely piloted aircraft provides all the benefits of unmanned operations without the complexity and additional costs associated with developing new unmanned vehicles.

"In addition to being cheap, simple, and reliable, a drone based on a light aircraft also has the advantage of being invisible. Not because of its high-tech shape and coating, but because of its environmental friendliness," the article says.

The publication noted that the strike on the Alabuga should make the Russian command worried because the aggressor state does not have enough air defense equipment to protect the frontline forces and to protect Russian cities and factories.

"And while the Ukrainian drone industry is very decentralized and therefore difficult to suppress with air strikes, the Russian drone industry is the opposite. It is centralized. Oddly enough, one state-owned company produces almost all of Russia's explosive drones with a first-person view," the author noted.

With this in mind, and if the attacks continue, he suggested that Ukraine could suspend Russian drone production and seize a critical advantage.

Cessna is an American manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, ranging from small two-seaters with piston engines to business jets with turboprop and turbocharged engines. The company is located in Wichita, Kansas, USA.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

– On April 2, Russian media reported that explosions had occurred in Tatarstan, Russia. Unidentified drones attacked enterprises in Elabuga and Nizhnekamsk.

– The Yelaz-Naftoprodukt oil refinery and the plant where Shakhtys were assembled were hit in the Alabuga SEZ.

– The Russians claimed that the oil refinery in Tatarstan was attacked by a Ukrainian UJ-22 Airborne drone. This UAV is a development of the Ukrainian company Ukrjet. However, according to the characteristics of this UAV, its maximum flight range is up to 800 km, and the distance from the Ukrainian border to Yelabuga is at least 1200 km.

– The ISW concluded that the Ukrainian strikes on the Alabuga SEZ in Tatarstan were a turning point and demonstrated our country's ability to reach enemy targets over long distances deep in the Russian rear. This is a necessary component of Ukraine's campaign to destroy the industries that support the Russian army.

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