Russia may well not have anticipated the attack, as their attention had focused primarily on the front line in Ukraine itself, the expert added.

Arbo Probal, head of the EDF's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), called Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields and bombers a truly impressive form of warfare.

.Speaking to "Ukraina stuudio," Probal said: "I have to start off by saying, hats off and a deep bow to those who planned and carried out this attack. A very meticulously executed operation, at least from the outside looking in. What went on inside—we obviously don't know—but it was well planned and executed. I believe the Ukrainians hacked into Russian mobile networks and probably controlled the drones from there. Consequently, standard jamming tools didn't work against these drones, and as they said about 170 drones were flown, each with its own controller — the whole logistics behind that is, in my opinion, remarkable. The fact that the trucks were in the right place at the right time or that the roofs shot off at the right moment — all carried out with split-second precision — impressive!"

Probal said he does not rule out that the drones could have been pre-programmed to carry out their task, adding he rather believes that a separate pilot was found for each drone as noted.

"This is an effective enough operation for me to believe they found one operator for each drone. They have enough pilots," the expert went on.

The Russian side may not have detected the attack before it hit due to it being focused primarily on the front line in Ukraine, and could not foresee such an operation, so deep inside Russia.

"The primary air defense systems are directed at the front, and now they (the Russians – ed.) might pull some back from there. A small drone can fly low enough, launches close enough — I think their 'eyes' and that kind of defense zone were, in air defense terms, deeper than the launch points of these drones," Probal said.

The UAVs used may have been medium-sized first-person view (FPV) drones with potentially a few kilograms of explosives attached, depending on range and drone battery size.

"If flights are time is a bit shorter, the battery used can be weaker and smaller, and that in turn allows compromises with the amount of ammunition loaded onto it," Probal explained.

In the case of Russia's own drone operations, according to Probal, the emphasis is primarily on quantity — that is, sending out waves of drones and UAVs all at once.

"They simply saturate an entire air defense system. Especially when you have to conserve and protect your own assets, you inevitably start selecting which targets to defend — this means that 15 percent or more of the drones eventually reach their target or its vicinity," Probal said.

Russia is also trying to manage independently in the drone sector, Probal added, though does not rule out that the enemy still uses large amounts of Chinese support, as it has done by buying Iranian-made drones and drone tech too.

"There is likely also this gray-zone border trade, where slightly more specific equipment is still getting smuggled into the country via semi-friendly nations. But looking at it from another side, the Ukrainians have found a remedy — they aim to produce about four million drones which no longer rely on Chinese components, with everything needed produced in Ukraine," Probal added.

According to Probal, last year 1,000 drones were already delivered to the Ukrainian front which had been 100 percent made in Ukraine. Of the planned four million drones estimated needed to produce a favorable result for Ukraine, the bulk, 96 to 98 percent, are hopefully to be produced in Ukraine itself.

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