The Ukrainian War will be remembered for being the first in which the drones They have been used massively and have been fundamental in the development of the conflict. Not only the powerful military drones, but tens of thousands of cheap FPV drones that have disrupted the cost-benefit ratio of using weapons on the battlefield and they are a nightmare for combatants on both sides. It has now been confirmed that Russia this resorting on a large scale to a very old war tactic to deal with this novel aspect of modern conflicts. The strengths Russians have deployed the largest smokescreen ever recorded in the Ukrainian war to protect the advance of its troops from surveillance and attacks by Ukrainian drones and artillery.
As published by the Russian channel The Wrong Side on Telegram, Russia has used this tactic in the advance of its troops in the west of the Lugansk oblast. “The 'chemists' of the Southern Group of Forces actively support the offensive actions of the assault units. This time, spray camouflage did not allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to raise “birds” in the air to detect the movement of our forces“, has published The Wrong Side.
In the 34-second video that accompanies the publication you can see Russian specialized vehicles deploying white smoke trails. These contrails combine to form a larger layer of smoke that effectively conceals vehicles and protects them both from drone attacks and from being able to locate their location to transmit it to Ukrainian artillery positions. Given their shortage of ammunition, it is unlikely that they will fire at random trying to get lucky and hit the Russian troops.
Russian Army used an aerosol curtain to protect military equipment from Ukrainian FPV drones during an assault near Bilohorivka, Luhansk region. pic.twitter.com/nDPmkwsOpn
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 22, 2024
“As a result, our units managed to occupy several enemy strongholds on the approaches to the populated area,” adds The Wrong Side, referring to the town of Bilohorivka in eastern Ukraine. The recording does not allow determining what substance is being usedbut according to The War Zone, it would have been deployed using the TDA-3.
This system generates smoke to hide the positions of the Russian Army and attaches to a 6×6 Kama3 truck. Unlike TDA-2, you only need a two man crew to operate it. The TDA-3 has been part of the Russian Army since 2016 and can overshadow both visual and infrared detection.
Russia's TDA‑3 The modern smokescreen marvel reshaping battlefield tactics. The TDA-3, integrated into the Russian Federation Army between (2016) and (2017), is designed to obscure valuable resources and personnel from aerial detection. Thanks to the dense clouds it emits, the… pic.twitter.com/rAqIy4PFFq
— Bill Hicks 🇳🇿NZ (@HicksKiwi) April 21, 2024
Smoke screens on the battlefield
Deploying smoke to hide military maneuvers is a tactic that has thousands of years. Its first documented use dates back to 2000 years before Christ, in Indiaand since then Armies around the world have used a variety of methods to create smokeincluding the burning of materials such as wood, oil, grasses and other fuels.
During the First World Warsmoke screens became a widely used military tactic, especially during the Trench war. Specific devices were used to generate smoke, such as portable and vehicle-mounted smoke generators. These were used to cover troop movements, hide positions, disorient the enemy and provide cover for advancing own forces.
Currently, It is common for armored combat vehicles to have some type of smoke screen system to protect yourself from the enemy. And in the specific case of Ukraine it is not the first time it has been used, although the difference with previous ones is the scale. Russia has used it to protect the Kerch Bridgewhich connects the Crimean peninsula with the invading country and has been attacked by Ukraine on two occasions, while the Ukrainian Army has a system of this type on tanks Bradley donated by the United States.