In the realm of the trudge towards the deadly Bolo, I don’t know how often these armed drone encounters are happening, but this particular one, from WaPo, is interesting for a facet that had not occurred to me (being naturally a little slow):
A series of mysterious attacks against the main Russian military base in Syria, including one conducted by a swarm of armed miniature drones, has exposed Russia’s continued vulnerability in the country despite recent claims of victory by President Vladimir Putin.
The attacks have also spurred a flurry of questions over who may be responsible for what amounts to the biggest military challenge yet to Russia’s role in Syria, just when Moscow is seeking to wind its presence down.
In the most recent and unusual of the attacks, more than a dozen armed drones descended from an unknown location onto Russia’s vast Hmeimim air base in northwestern Latakia province, the headquarters of Russia’s military operations in Syria, and on the nearby Russian naval base at Tartus.
Russia said that it shot down seven of the 13 drones and used electronic countermeasures to safely bring down the other six. It said no serious damage was caused.
Anonymous attacks should have been obvious to me, but I’m not a military guy. So now Russia is under attack, but doesn’t know who to strike. Pick the wrong group and your prestige jogs down a point – and maybe you’ve just alienated a potential ally. If you don’t lash out, you look weak and passive. Interesting conundrum.
Compounding it is this:
The Russian Defense Ministry statement said the drones used in the Hmeimim attack came from between 50 and 100 kilometers away …
A rather sophisticated drone. Russia is pointing fingers at the United States as the supplier of the weaponry.
BTW, if you’re intrigued by Keith Laumer’s Bolo series but haven’t pursued it on the Web, here’s a Fandom site. Have at it.
