In the month of November, Red Six observed a broad range of drone incidents which were widely dispersed throughout the world. In Eastern Europe, the fighting between Ukraine and Russia continued to generate innumerable events worthy of notice and study. These included the use of gliding bombs by Russia, the possible introduction of explosively formed projectiles into Russian loitering munitions, and the use of anti-jamming Controlled Reception Pattern Antennas (CRPA) by Ukraine for its UAS.

At the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia was slow to adapt to drone warfare; however, Moscow is now rapidly moving ahead with an aggressive drone strategy that includes training its forces and by greatly increasing its drone production capacity. Ukraine likewise continues to evolve its drone capability, such as its use of large Vampire multirotor drones, dubbed “Baba Yaga” (evil witch from Slavic folklore) by Russian ground forces, for night attacks against Russian positions.

The Middle East witnessed a series of drone developments largely as an outgrowth of Israel’s war with Hamas. In Israel and Gaza drone activity lessened, particularly at the end of the month as Israel began its hostage exchange worth the terrorists. In the broader Middle East, drone warfare grew as Iran tried to influence matters through provocations by its proxies in Iraq and Yemen. The U.S. was forced to respond to drone and missile strikes made by the proxy group Khattab Hezbollah with air attacks against militant command centers south of Baghdad. From the Arabian Peninsula, Houthi-Movement rebels demonstrated the reach of the drones with a successful long range attack which hit a school in the Israeli city of Eilat. The Houthis were also able to use a surface-to-air missile to intercept and destroy a MQ-9 Reaper off the coast of Yemen.

In the Far East, rebels fighting in Myanmar continue attacking junta forces with unexpected collateral damage from a rebel drone strike against soldiers at a border crossing with China resulting in setting a fire to 100 cargo trucks waiting to cross into Myanmar. In India, the Army and police recovered the payload dropped from a drone which included grenades, a handgun and ammunition and possibly intended for terrorists.

Cartels in Mexico continue to use drones to support their operations and to fight one another. Images posted online of a Jalisco New Generation Cartel truck modified with overhead drone protection reflects the cartel’s awareness of the threat posed by rival drones.

Finally, law enforcement organizations continue to face the challenge of criminals using drones to smuggle drugs into prisons. This report describes how a sheriff’s deputy in Georgia used his cruiser to drive a pair of drug smugglers off the road during a high-speed chase, prison smugglers caught in the act in Northern Canada, and the prevalence of drones being used for prison smuggling at a British prison in Liverpool.