Kasianov on drone attack on Moscow: My unit did it much cheaper
Drone Industry
Major and aerial reconnaissance expert Yurii Kasianov believes the impact of the UAV attack on Moscow was purely economic.
He said this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
"Last night, Ukrainian drones — including some ‘jet-powered’ ones, like ‘drone-missiles’ or the Flamingo type — attacked Moscow. The enemy claims to have shot down 40 targets in the Moscow region, including 34 headed for the city. Not a single drone or missile reached its destination," he wrote.
Effectiveness of the attack on Moscow
"The minimum cost of an FP-1 drone by Fire Point, equipped with an additional CRPA satellite navigation antenna that increases resistance to electronic warfare, is currently around USD 80,000. ‘Jet-powered’ models, as reported by the media, can cost several times more," the serviceman explained.
According to him, assuming an average cost of USD 100,000 per drone or missile (a conservative estimate), the 40 targets shot down in the Moscow region would amount to USD 4 million.
Kasianov stated that the impact of the attack on Moscow was primarily economic:
- the cost of various types of Pantsir surface-to-air missiles ranges from USD 20,000 to 40,000; assuming the higher estimate, 40 missiles would total USD 1.6 million;
- the closure of three airports for two hours, with an estimated downtime cost of USD 450,000 per hour, equals USD 2.7 million.
"In total, the enemy’s economic losses — USD 1.6 million + USD 2.7 million = USD 4.3 million — exceed the cost of the drones used in this operation, unless the ‘jet-powered’ ones were outrageously expensive," he added.
Kasianov noted that he has always supported such operations, recalling that drones from his now-disbanded unit once reached the very center of Moscow.
"We did it much cheaper — just USD 144,000 for 24 drones, each costing only USD 6,000. The economic effect was many times higher: airports were shut down, mobile internet was cut off, satellite navigation in Moscow was disrupted, and a transport collapse followed.
Yet somehow, that was considered ‘ineffective’ and ‘pointless.’ So why were we disbanded if others are now allowed to fly to Moscow?" he concluded.
Drone attack on Moscow overnight on October 27
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses allegedly intercepted and destroyed 193 drones. According to Russian sources, 40 UAVs were shot down over Moscow region, 34 of them headed toward the capital.
Background
On 3 October, Yurii Kasianov, a State Border Guard Service officer, aerial reconnaissance specialist and founder of the Matrix-UAV bureau, said that the dissolution of the strike-drone company under his command in the 10th Mobile Detachment of the Border Guard Service was carried out on the order of Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak.
According to him, unit personnel are being "dragged" for questioning by the Internal Security Service and subjected to polygraph tests. He issued a warning to Yermak over what he described as pressure and persecution.
Kasianov also appealed to President Zelenskyy over the disbandment of what he called an effective unit, and said he would go to the Presidential Office via a rally on Maidan.
On the evening of Sunday, 5 October, Kasianov, together with his family and supporters, came to Maidan to protest against the disbandment of his effective unit. The soldier said that they had been waiting for more than two hours for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he never came.
Later, Kasianov stated that the command had dismissed the officer who was acting as commander. The soldier had been held at the military unit since Saturday.
On 6 October, the State Border Guard Service reported that Kasianov's unit had been disbanded due to the lack of effectiveness in performing its tasks.
Yurii Kasianov called the statements of the State Border Guard Service about the lack of results of the UAV strike company a lie.
On October 12, Yurii Kasianov stated that he is a whistleblower and a key witness in a National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) case involving the company Fire Point. He cited this as the main reason behind the disbandment of the unit he had created. The serviceman also asked NABU to provide protection for himself and his family under the witness protection program.
Earlier, media reports claimed that Timur Mindich is a co-owner of Fire Point.
It was later reported that Kasianov would continue serving with one of the State Border Guard Service units in eastern Ukraine.
