SBU chief on 'Operation Spiderweb': 117 drones used, each operative responsible for own sector

Some 117 drones were involved in "Operation Spiderweb," and each operative was responsible for his own sector of work and did not know about the work of others, the head of Ukraine's State Security Service, Vasyl Malyuk, has said.

"We involved 117 drones, the result of the work was seen by the whole world. It was a very complex operation, multi-component. The first is logistics. The most aspect was the delivery of means [for launching the drones] to the enemy's rear. Another element is the drone itself," Malyuk said at a meeting with journalists.

According to him, this drone looks like an ordinary one, but it is a unique means of destruction with several types of communication.

"The warhead in the body of the drone itself consists of two parts, 800 and 800 g, in the complex - it is 1.6 kg - a special cumulative high-explosive charge. What does this mean? That it burns the body of the aircraft and explodes inside, which causes maximum damage to the target," he said.

Malyuk noted: "They hit the fuel tanks, I defined this as a priority. They hit the side of the aircraft, where the missiles were located. They hit the avionics, the equipment that the enemy does not have in reserve. This is a very correct and specially designed ammunition. Separate elements for communication were used, which are groups of goods subject to sanctions on Russian territory."

Malyuk also reported that the people who made these drones did not know that it was for the special operation and those who constructed containers used to launch them did not know what they would be used for.

"The people who transported the containers were also not aware [of the operation]… Each operative was responsible for his own [sector], extremely important, separate area of ​​work," he added.

Malyuk said that to conduct the special operation, he gathered the best drone operators of SBU 's special operations unit A [Alpha].

"They came to the combat control point at five in the morning, took their phones away. And the work began: everyone was given a target, a specific plane was "allocated." Everyone had a model of the terrain, which took into account the topography, the location of the houses, the route, how to get there. I had my own models, you saw the photo," Malyuk said.

As for the containers, according to Malyuk, they are autonomous.

"There was an option that we would work in the winter. That's why there was a system of solar panels, an Eco Flow battery system. They were supposed to constantly power the drones, if we were to work in places where it was -50 degrees. The drone was supposed to start with the maximum charge," he said.

Malyuk also said that the containers were shipped separately, noting that Eco Flow and solar panels are a group of goods subject to sanctions.

"A whole story began, we were even forced to bribe Russian customs officers separately," Malyuk added.

He reported that the operation took one year, six months and nine days of work.

"We started doing this on November 23rd. Because then the enemy once again began massively shelling peaceful Ukrainian cities. Our task was to destroy missile carriers. Actually, we began to expand the operational plan... The circle of those who knew about it was extremely limited. Of course, the President knew, I explained to him all the difficulties, stages, details... He was interested in how much time was left, how I saw it and when we could strike. Another employee close to me in the SBU system knew, everyone else - very narrowly profiled," he noted.

"We were united by one correct operational plan, an idea. And we succeeded. Very worthy work, I believe, by all participants. This is a marker that Ukraine works with intelligence and is capable of non-standard solutions that change the history of warfare. You see, this is the tip of the iceberg of our unique logistical, drone and agent approaches. Remote work, artificial intelligence. The special operation brought everything together into a single whole."

As reported, on June 1, the SBU conducted a unique special operation to simultaneously destroy strategic aircraft at four military airfields in Russia where strategic aviation assets were based. The estimated cost of the equipment destroyed as a result of "Operation Spiderweb"e xceeds $7 billion.

Total losses of enemy aircraft amount to 41 units, including A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, as well as An-12 and Il-78 aircraft.