The Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported today that Ukrainian forces have used First Person View (FPV) drones to destroy a Russian 1L219M Zoopark-1 counter-battery radar.
In a Telegram announcement, the HUR announced that soldiers from its Kryla (Wings) Special Unit within the Active Operations Department identified, tracked, and destroyed the Russian Zoopark-1 radar. The radar, which is claimed by HUF to be worth “1 billion hryvnias” (approximately $24 million), is designed to automatically determine the coordinates of enemy artillery positions such as mortars, howitzers, rocket launchers and tactical missile systems. By contrast, the FPV drones used by the Kryla soldiers are estimated to cost 100,000 hryvnias, or $2,400, with the Telegram signing off: “Ratio – 1: 10,000. We continue the fight!”
Based on reports from Militarnyi, a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone first monitored the movement and deployment of the Russian radar, likely pinpointing the exact location of the Russian equipment and facilitating the targeted strike that followed. After the initial hits, Russian personnel attempted to flee, but the radar station eventually burned down entirely in an open field.
Ukrainian news organisation Radio Liberty first reported the presence of Russian Zoopark radars in occupied Donbas as early as 2014, and more recently in March 2024 the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) announced via Telegram the destruction of a Zoopark-1 system and its crew.
The recent destruction of these radar systems marks a significant blow to Russian military reconnaissance and is yet another example of Ukrainian forces leveraging relatively low-cost drones to destroy high-value enemy Russian military equipment.
Post Image Credit: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
