On February 4th, Ukraine launched forty-three drones at one of Russia’s most heavily defended targets. Russian Pantsir air defense systems and ZU-23 gun crews intercepted every single one. The Progress missile factory in Michurinsk. The “Progress” plant in Michurinsk is a significant industrial enterprise that produces high-tech equipment for aviation and missile control systems.
MOSCOW FEBRUARY 26: On February 4th, Ukraine launched forty-three drones at one of Russia’s most heavily defended targets — the Progress missile factory in Michurinsk. Russian Pantsir air defense systems and ZU-23 gun crews intercepted every single one. They won every engagement. And they still lost.
Michurinsk is the second most populous town in Tambov Oblast, Russia. The town is home to Michurinsk air base. The “Progress” plant in Michurinsk is a significant industrial enterprise that produces high-tech equipment for aviation and missile control systems. It is a key supplier for Russia’s defense conglomerates, supporting the production of military systems such as the Iskander and Tornado.
This video breaks down how Ukraine used cheap UJ-22 decoy drones to drain Russian air defense magazines, then sent AN-196 Lyuty strike drones through the empty corridor behind them. We explain how the Pantsir-S1 engagement chain works, why Russia’s R-330Zh Zhitel electronic warfare jammer was the most effective defense in the corridor, and how Ukraine’s Skynode S visual navigation system made their drones completely immune to GPS jamming.
But the real target was never the factory. What happened nine hours later at the Kochetovka-2 rail yard reveals one of the most sophisticated multi-domain operations of the entire Ukraine-Russia war and why modern drone warfare has changed air defense forever.
