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New drone and hacking attacks have brought the battlefield to energy, water, and critical infrastructure internationally.
Civilian targets are increasingly trending as targets in the military battle space, with drones recently discovered carrying explosive devices near civilian aircraft in Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany.
In addition, alleged Iran-linked coordinated cyber attacks in July temporarily shut down a small UK power generator for four days and targeted water and wastewater treatment facilities across at least 12 US states.
It’s clear that the line between military targets and energy, water and critical aviation infrastructure is becoming increasingly blurred.
As if to illustrate this point, Russian state-owned military equipment company Rosoboronexport has announced the debut of a new jet loitering munition system specifically designed to engage such targets.
“In addition to the traditional air weapons, Rosoboronexport for the first time will proudly present the unique jet loitering munition with a speed of 500km per hour. It is designed to engage stationary targets with known coordinates such as energy facilities, infrastructure and logistic objects … at distances of up to 450km and can be applied from aircraft and helicopter carriers,” a corporate spokesperson said.
The system is announced to debut at El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt later this month alongside Su-57E fifth-generation fighter jets, a new Yak-130M modernised combat trainer, Ka-52E combat scout-attack helicopter, and a wide range of loitering munitions.
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