The russians form mobile fire groups to counter Ukrainian drones, but they are unlikely to be able to deploy mobile fire groups on the required scale.
This is stated in the Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment as of March 30, 2024 of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
It is reported that the russian military forms mobile fire groups a within unspecified combined arms armies and air force and air defense armies to combat drones, and equips these groups with thermal imagers, electronic warfare (EW) systems, and machine guns mounted on pickup trucks.
ISW analysts note that the russian occupation army, in particular, faces the threat of Ukrainian drones both in occupied Ukraine and in russia at oil refineries and other critical infrastructure facilities supporting russia's military efforts. It is not known whether these mobile groups will be able to protect the territory targeted by Ukrainian UAVs.
It is noted that the description of russian mobile firing groups in the russian media is similar to Ukrainian tactical mobile firing groups, which the Ukrainian military began to deploy widely in the spring of 2023 to protect against regular russian attacks by Shaheds.
“Ukrainian forces have long been conducting drone strikes against Russian targets in occupied Ukraine, and the Russian military command’s decision to form the mobile fire groups is likely in response to the recent intensification of Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian oil refineries in February and March,” analysts said.
It is noted that russia cannot properly protect itself from attacks by Ukrainian drones.
ISW analysts suggest that russian troops are having difficulty properly deploying short-range air defense systems along expected Ukrainian drone flight vectors, and the russian military appears to have not even been able to cover important potential targets in russia's well-defended areas.
“The mass deployment of mobile fire groups throughout western Russia could pose similar challenges for Russian forces, as the Russian military may not be able to sufficiently field the groups at scale,” the report summarizes.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, according to the National Resistance Center, the aggressor country russia cannot produce the planned number of UAVs due to sanctions.
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