In a daring move, Ukraine has intensified its deep-strike campaign by utilizing Cold War-era weaponry to target military and industrial sites deep inside Russia. Recent reports indicate that a batch of 1970s-vintage Tupolev Tu-141/143 drones has resurfaced, potentially providing the Ukrainian forces with a means to strike strategic targets.

Social media users have shared photographs showing the wreckage of a Tu-143 drone in Russia's Bryansk Oblast, just north of Ukraine. It appears that this drone was part of Ukraine's ongoing campaign to target Russian infrastructure, including oil facilities in regions near Ukraine.

Although the first-generation recon drones deployed by the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam were not particularly sophisticated, the Tu-141 and Tu-143 jets, weighing seven tons and measuring 47 feet in length, are simple, speedy, and capable of carrying a payload weighing hundreds of pounds. This makes them considerably more destructive than smaller drones.

The Ukrainian military has reportedly been sending these drones on one-way missions to demolish Russian oil refineries. These aging aircraft, originally used by the Soviet Union, have been retrieved from storage in Ukraine and reconditioned by Ukrainian technicians since the Russian invasion in 2014.

Given their speed of 600 miles per hour and an operational altitude ranging from treetop height to 20,000 feet, the Tu-141/143 drones make for suitable substitutes for manned bombers, which are in short supply and too valuable to risk on deep raids into Russian territory. Equipped with an inertial navigation system, these drones can maintain their course over distances of more than a thousand miles, recovering by cutting the engine and deploying a parachute.

Modifications have been made to convert the Tu-141/143 drones from reconnaissance vehicles to cruise missiles. The Ukrainian air force reportedly conducted its first one-way missions using these modified drones as early as March 2022. However, it was not until December 2022 that the drones successfully struck two Russian bomber bases located 300 miles inside Russia. In total, Ukraine has lost 14 Tu-141s and Tu-143s either through crashes or being shot down during the first year of Russia's wider war on Ukraine.

Despite initial assumptions that the country had exhausted its fleet of flyable Tu-141/143 drones, a recent raid confirmed that there are potentially more operational drones remaining. The exact number of these drones in Ukraine's possession is uncertain, but if any remain, it is likely that they will be deployed for further deep strikes targeting Russian industry in the border oblasts.

The reemergence of these Cold War-era drones showcases the resourcefulness of the Ukrainian forces in their ongoing struggle against Russia's aggression. As the conflict continues, the use of such unconventional weaponry suggests that Ukraine is determined to employ every available means to defend its interests and strike back at its adversary.