Kairos Battalion transformed into 7th Separate USF Center — The Japan Times
In Ukraine, the Kairos long-range strike unit has been transformed from a battalion into the 7th Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces. The unit, in which hundreds of service members serve, can coordinate the work of other units amid the expansion of Ukrainian strikes on military and energy targets in Russia, the aggressor state, and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
As The Japan Times reports, Kairos uses small, inexpensive cruise missiles for attacks deep inside Russian territory and on Ukrainian lands occupied by Russia. The targets named include air defense systems, natural gas terminals and oil refineries.
Strike planning
The unit’s commander, with the call sign Ray, whom the publication identifies as a lieutenant colonel, said that current and previous satellite images are used in preparing operations. They make it possible to compare changes at facilities and identify vulnerable elements for strikes. According to him, intelligence data, detailed maps and consultations with energy industry specialists are also used in the work.
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Ray said that his unit was the first to plan and carry out a campaign of strikes on tankers in the Sea of Azov. He claimed that 60 vessels were hit within a month. According to Ray, during the summer operation to isolate Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia, the Unmanned Systems Forces carried out 7,000 drone strikes in the relevant theater of operations.
Communication limitations
According to the publication, Starlink cannot be used for strikes inside Russia because the service is disabled there. This complicates the remote control of drones beyond the radio horizon. Over the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, however, the success rate of such operations is higher, as operators can receive video from drones almost until the target is hit.
Ray noted that reports on Russian Telegram channels, information from people on the ground, digital breaches and cyber intelligence help assess the results of the unit’s attacks. Another Ukrainian unit, the 14th Separate Regiment, from which a significant part of the long-range strike work began, was also transformed into the 1st Separate Center.
