Ukrainian troops capture sophisticated Russian surveillance drone
A photo surfaced on social media showed Ukrainian soldiers posing with an unusual find. They managed to acquire Russian equipment without a fight. The photo leaves no doubt that it is a Supercam S350 drone.
Quite often, remnants of missiles used by Russians to attack Ukrainian troops and cities are found in Ukraine. In August of this year alone, there were reports that defenders found a Kh-101 missile in one of Kyiv's ponds and remnants of a modern Kh-69 missile. In this case, it's a find from a completely different category, but it should also be very valuable.
Ukrainians found the Supercam S350 in a field
The Supercam S350 is often called the "flying Russian spy" due to the drone's capabilities.
The Supercam S350, which has a wingspan of 10.5 feet, can operate at an altitude of up to 3.1 miles. Its maximum speed is 75 mph. Very important pieces of equipment here are a camera with a resolution of 20, 24, 42, or 60 MP (depending on the version) and a stabilized thermal imaging camera.
The Russians boasted that the Supercam S350 offers up to 33x optical zoom and can remain in the air continuously for 4.5 hours. Its range is estimated to be 149 miles.
It's unclear what caused the Russian drone to fall. It could have landed in an unplanned location due to Ukrainian actions, or it might have been due to an error or malfunction. Regardless of the circumstances, capturing the Supercam S350 would mean that the "flying Russian spy" would soon have significantly fewer secrets from the Ukrainians.
Both sides of the ongoing war use captured equipment for analysis. In the case of the Ukrainians, this often happens not only with the mentioned missiles but also with drones and heavy equipment such as tanks. A prime example here is the detailed examination of Russia's best tank, the T-90M, whose specifications showed that it was a "failure instead of a breakthrough."
