Ukrainian drone strike exposes vulnerabilities in Novorossiysk defence
The Ukrainians attacked the Russian port in Novorossiysk, which was supposed to be a haven for the Black Sea Fleet, with drones. The Russians used practically everything they had for defence. Still, the effects of the anti-aircraft fire, reminiscent of scenes from the Battle of Midway, were very severe for the city's residents. We explain what went wrong.
The Ukrainians continue to carry out drone attacks on targets deep in Russian territory. In addition to refineries, one of the more significant targets is the port of Novorossiysk, where part of the Black Sea Fleet was relocated because the port in Sevastopol, in Crimea, has become too dangerous due to regular attacks, for instance, by Storm Shadow and MGM-140 ATACMS missiles.
In the video below, you can see how the Russians are firing at the drones using all available small arms, including automatic cannons and heavy machine guns such as NSV, KPVT, and DShK. The problem, however, is that they are firing towards the city since each fired bullet must eventually fall somewhere.
It turns out that the Russian barrage caused significant property damage to the city's residents. For example, vehicles parked on the streets were damaged. Below, you can see how a 12.7 mm or 14.5 mm bullet fired from a heavy machine gun pierced the hood and the valve cover of an engine.
It is worth noting that despite an effective range of several hundred metres against flying targets, bullets fired from heavy machine guns can fly even over twice that distance while still retaining significant kinetic energy (several thousand Joules).
Heavy machine guns as anti-drone defense
The idea of using machine guns for anti-aircraft defence is as old as aviation itself and, for the past few decades, seemed like a "thing of the past." However, the mass use of inexpensive drones has brought it back because, until the widespread adoption of laser weapons, there is no other low-cost physical elimination alternative for drones than barrel weapons.
An ideal solution is to operate them with an advanced fire control system that allows precise shooting based on radar or at least a laser rangefinder. For example, we can mention the "monster from Tarnów" or the SMASH modules from the Israeli company Smart Shooter.
However, an experienced shooter who knows, for example, the flight characteristics of a given type of drone can also be effective, as shown by the Ukrainian experiences with the use of mobile intervention groups hunting Shaheds with heavy machine guns like the Browning M2 or automatic cannons like the Zastava M75.
