Russia has turned Hvardiyske airfield in occupied Crimea into a launch hub for attack drones, and new satellite imagery obtained by RFE/RL helps explain why repeated Ukrainian strikes on the base have not shut it down.
The October 11 Image
No military aircraft are visible at Hvardiyske. What stands out instead is the expansion of infrastructure across the Soviet-era airbase. In its southwestern section, dozens of unidentified objects sit in an open area, spaced several metres apart.
The image records a large, dispersed footprint. Not a single cluster of aircraft or one obvious facility that Ukraine could hit to end operations.
Why Hits Have Had Limited Effect
A former Ukrainian military officer from Crimea told RFE/RL that drone operations are divided among different parts of the airfield: launches in one area, maintenance in another and storage elsewhere. Ukraine has hit Hvardiyske with drones, but the damage reported so far has been limited.
That layout is a brutal practical advantage for Moscow. Damaging a launch position does not necessarily destroy the equipment being serviced or the drones held for later flights. The officer also describes much of the infrastructure as simple and readily repairable. Russia can spread the operation out, absorb damage to one part and keep the rest working.
Russia has built a drone operation designed to keep launching even after part of the site is hit.
The Storage Question
The same former officer points to a Soviet-built underground aviation ammunition depot about 15 kilometres from Hvardiyske. He believes Russia likely stores the attack drones launched from the airfield there.
That would put a potentially important part of the operation beyond the visible launch areas, while crews use the expanded airbase infrastructure to prepare and dispatch drones. Hvardiyske poses a threat to Ukraine since Russian forces use it for near-daily attacks. The October 11 image makes the challenge of stopping them more concrete: an airfield with widely separated activity, replaceable surface infrastructure and a possible underground store some distance away.