Russian forces have reportedly deployed the largest smokescreen so far in the war to hide from Ukrainian drones. Deployed in the western Luhansk Oblast, this age-old battle tactic also helps obscure valuable assets from the artillery.
The smokescreen, revealed from footage posted by the Russian The Wrong Side Telegram channel, was deployed to mask Russian advances in Bilohorivka.
According to The Wrong Side, chemists from Russia’s Southern Group of Forces are actively supporting the assault units’ offensive actions. This time, aerosol camouflage prevented the Ukrainian Armed Forces from deploying aerial surveillance to detect the forces’ movement.
Within the 34-second-long clip, specialist Russian vehicles can be seen deploying trails of white smoke. These trails eventually combine to form a larger blanket of smoke, effectively obscuring the vehicles.
Using smoke to hide from drones
From any footage, it is not entirely clear exactly what smoke substance is being deployed by the Russians.
However, the tactic worked, and “as a result, our units managed to occupy several enemy strongholds on the approaches to the populated area,” The Wrong Side explained the apparent success.
Deploying smoke to hide military maneuvers is an ageless tactic that is thought to have been developed thousands of years ago. The first documented use was around 2,000 BC, during ancient battles in India.
Today, it is a common tactic used by naval and land forces. Most modern armored fighting vehicles and tanks have some form of smokescreen technology mounted on the vehicle’s hull.
Smoke can be deployed using purpose-built generators or specialist munitions like grenades or shells.
Russia has been seen using smoke in recent times, especially in its efforts to protect the Kerch Bridge. This $4 billion span connects Russia with the Crimean peninsula, which it occupied in 2014 and is considered Vladimir Putin’s prized possession.
Ukraine has attacked the bridge twice, once in October 2022 and again in July 2023.
Likely the TDA-3
According to The War Zone, the smoke generators could be Russia’s latest TDA-3 smoke-generating vehicles. These are fixed systems mounted to 6?6 drive trucks. Unlike its TDA-2 predecessor, this newer machine only requires a team of two to operate.
It’s not uncommon for Russians to use smokescreens to avoid detection by First Person View (FPV) drones and spotters for artillery.
These drones have been a problem for both sides, but the Russians have now conducted their largest operation.
For example, Russian MT-LBs have previously been seen deploying a smokescreen to counter an attack by a Ukrainian FPV drone.
By using smoke to obscure their movements, the advancing forces are hidden from view, making it difficult for FPV drones to target them and spotter drones to locate them for artillery strikes.
Ukraine has also been using smokescreens in its battlefield tactics, including the canisters that were dispensed from US-donated Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
However, these applications are less extensive than the smoke cover that Russia has laid down in its latest advance in the Luhansk Oblast.
