Kamikaze Drones

Kamikaze Drones

Subject: Science & Tech

Section: Msc

Context- Kamikaze or suicide drones are unmanned aircraft that are part of the tranche of weapons that are being sent by the US to Ukraine to assist their fight against Russia.

Concept-

About Kamikaze Drones:

• A loitering munition (also known as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone) is a weapon system category in which the munition loiters (waits passively) around the target area for some time and attacks only once a target is located.
• Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against concealed or hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms close to the target area, and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can easily be aborted.
• Loitering munitions lie between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), sharing characteristics with both.
• They differ from cruise missiles in that they are designed to loiter for a relatively long time around the target area, and from UCAVs in that a loitering munition is intended to be expended in an attack and has a built-in warhead.
• Loitering weapons first emerged in the 1980s for use in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).