Russian military missteps: Another drone downed by friendly fire

The Russians continue to inadvertently down their equipment. In the Belgorod region, a unit stationed near the Ukrainian border "accidentally shot down its own Supercam drone," reports the Military News profile on platform X. Here, we explain what this particular structure entails.

In the territory of the Russian Federation, various types of ammunition belonging to the Russian military have been falling for several months. This occurrence often results from malfunctions experienced by equipment aimed at Ukraine, causing the munitions to crash within Russian borders rather than their intended destinations.

However, Russian forces are frequently responsible for the destruction of their armaments. Recent examples include incidents earlier this year. In March, Russian air defence systems shot down their own Kh-101 missile. Shortly afterward, in June, the Russians reported a crash of a valuable Ka-29 helicopter over the Black Sea. This incident, too, was not caused by Ukrainian forces but rather by the allied Pantsir-S1 system.

The list of losses suffered due to friendly fire continues to grow. Recently, a Supercam drone was accidentally downed by Russian soldiers while guarding the border in the Belgorod region.

The Supercam is essentially a Russian-made drone, though it is generally much less popular than the Shahed-136 drones from Iran, which are regularly used in the conflict (known in Russia as Geran-2). This is because the Supercam drones, produced by the Russian company Unnamed Systems Group, have a different purpose. They were created as tools for aerial reconnaissance and aerial photography.

The flight time of the S350 variant (with higher flight endurance and range) reaches about 4.5 hours. During this period, the drone can transmit video images within a range of approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles). The maximum altitude the Supercam S350 can reach is 4,800 metres (16,000 feet), while the maximum range is about 240 kilometres (150 miles). The extensive data transmission range allows the drone to carry out observations from state borders or monitor critical enemy positions. It can, therefore, be assumed that the drone shot down by the Russians was either being used to observe the border with Ukraine or heading towards Ukrainian positions for aerial surveillance.

The Supercam S350 can perform fully automated flights, reducing the necessity for pilot support. Once airborne, it primarily utilizes a camera (ranging from 20 to 60 MP, depending on the version) and a stabilized thermal camera for observation. Additionally, the camera boasts a 33x optical zoom to monitor the enemy precisely.