Russia puts Ukrainian SIM cards in Shaheda: the expert explained why they do it

This practice has been around for about a year or more.

Russia has equipped its kamikaze drones with SIM cards from Ukrainian mobile operators to improve their targeting capabilities. Business Insider writes about this with reference to the British military expert Jack Watling.

According to him, SIM cards in Shahed-136 are used in two ways. First, triangulation from the bearings of mobile base stations is an additional navigation system for the drone. That is, it helps the drone to better navigate the terrain.

Second, connecting the drone to a mobile network gives the Russians a low-cost system of direct communication with the drone, receiving telemetry data from it during flight, such as the exact location and time of its downing. This data can be useful in planning the next strikes.

“Obviously there is something quite suspicious about a mobile phone traveling at 350 km/h, so that behavior can be tracked and SIM cards identified as being used for such malicious purposes can be cut off,” says Watling.

However, this is possible only if the mobile operator has effective communication channels with security services, the analyst emphasizes.

According to Watling, the Russians have been using this tactic since at least the end of 2023, when it first became public knowledge about the detection of 4G modems in downed drones.

(C)UNIAN 2024