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The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has reportedly began to use first-person view (FPV) suicide drones against al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies in the northwestern region of Greater Idlib.
An FPV suicide drone was shot down by HTS militants near the town of Kansafra in the southern Idlib countryside on September 28, marking the first time such a system was spotted in the Syrian battlefield. The terrorist group alleged that the drone was launched by the SAA. It didn’t report any other successful or failed attack with such drones.
Photos of the wreckage revealed that the drone was made from off-the-shelf parts, usually used for hubby racing drones. The drone was armed with a thermobaric warhead from a TBG-7 rocket-propelled grenade typically launched from the RPG-7.
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The appearance of FPV suicide drones with the SAA is not suprising considering that they are cheap and easy to manufacture.
It is possible that the army received some support from Russia, who gained vast experience in mass producing and operating this type of drones following the start of the special military operation in Ukraine.
FPV suicide drones will allow the SAA to target militants in Greater Idlib with lower cost, higher precision and with less risk to civilians.
It’s worth noting that the SAA and the Russian Aerospace Forces launched several waves of strikes against HTS and its allies in recent days in response to several violations of the ceasefire in Greater Idlib, which killed a number of service members and wounded civilians.
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