Russia To Deploy Drones In Tajikistan

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Russian troops in Tajikistan have received surveillance drones designed for “terrain reconnaissance and detection of radioactivity,” the Russian military has announced. “The UAVs have substantially raised the military capability of the units carrying out the surveillance mission during day and night,” the report said.

The UAVs in question are the “Granat,” “Zastava,” and “Leer.” All are relatively small — the Granat and Zastava are portable. And the Leer is apparently especially designed for “detecting radiation, creating interference for radio signals and suppressing specific frequencies.”

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

According to sUAS News it’s not clear what radiation threat there may be in Tajikistan, but the small surveillance drones would be consistent with Russia’s stated mission of trying to stop the spillover of militants from Afghanistan into Tajikistan.

It’s also possible that the drones are just for show. Russia also recently tested small surveillance drones at its base in Armenia, the U.S. is reportedly looking at setting up a drone base in Central Asia, and nearly all the countries in the region have dabbled in producing their own UAVs.