Kiev forces continue to lose its remaining drones to the air defense and electronic warfare (EW) systems of the Russian military.
On June 12, Russian sources shared a photo showing a BpAK-MP-1 Spectator tactical drone that was recently captured by the Russian military. The drone, which appeared to be intact, was likely downed with electronic warfare systems.
The Spectator was designed by the Igor Sikorsky Kiev Polytechnic Institute especially for short-range reconnaissance missions. The drone has an endurance from three to four hours. When manually operated, it has a range of 30 kilometers. The range increases to 50 kilometers in the fully automated mode.
The captured Spectator is from the more advance M1 version, which is equipped with an improved infrared imaging system. This version was also equipped with a target acquisition system that allows it to correct artillery fire.
At least 60 Spectator drone systems were in service with Kiev forces before the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.
The Russian military has been making much efforts to hunt down Ukrainian drones. On June 12 along, eight drones, including a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2, were downed by Russian air defense and EW systems.
According to the most recent briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defense, 1,188 Ukrainian drone have been shot down since the start of the special military operation. Now, Kiev forces are not operating drones with much freedom like before.