According to foreign media reports such as the Russian Satellite Network, at more than 11:00 p.m. local time on March 10, with a loud noise, a suspected flying object of an aircraft crashed into a location in the Zagreb district of the Croatian capital, and smashed a large crater with a diameter of about 3 meters and a depth of about 1 meter on the ground.
The scene of the incident. Image source: Foreign media
According to the Croatian website avaz.ba, in the large pit smashed at the scene, objects suspected of being wreckage of the aircraft can be seen, and some of the wreckage can also see the red star and Cyrillic letters drawn. In two places not far from the fall site, two parachutes were also found.
After the incident, some people thought that the falling object was an airplane, and others thought it was a missile. However, the US "Theater of Operations" website said that after careful examination and analysis of visual evidence, it is strongly believed that the fall was a Tu-141 unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, and Ukraine is the only country known to still use this Soviet-era drone, and has been using it in the recent Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Croatian military police officers measure radiation levels at the crash site. Image source: Visual China
According to the US military website "Theater of Operations", after a comprehensive analysis of the wreckage and related reports and reports, it was concluded that only the Tu-141 UAV met all the conditions. A wing in the wreckage, which is largely intact, further validates the media's judgment.
The "War Zone" article pointed out that the drone must have had a serious malfunction and then flew all the way through the airspace of Hungary or other neighboring countries of Croatia and flew into Croatian airspace. Keep in mind that the distance between Croatia and Ukraine is almost 350 miles (about 563 kilometers). And the fact that the drone can fly so far is also inexplicable and shocking.
Tu-141 drone. Image source: Foreign media screenshot
In this Russian-Ukrainian conflict, this is not the first loss of the Tu-141 drone, just a few days ago, another similar aircraft also crashed in Ukraine. Recently, Ukraine has used it as a strike drone and bait.
The article also analyzed that it is not yet excluded that this drone belongs to the Russian side, because Russia may also take some such drones from the warehouse as bait to attract the Ukrainian air defense system, but there is no evidence of this at present.
The "Battle Drive" said that the roots of the Tu-141 drone can be traced back to its predecessor, the Tu-123, which first flew in 1960, but the Tu-141 did not enter service in the Soviet army until the late 1990s, and the drone ranged about 650 miles (1046 kilometers) and could replace manned aircraft for tactical reconnaissance missions. The drone is launched from the launcher by rocket boost, flying at supersonic speed along a predetermined route, gathering intelligence, and then recovering through a parachute, which can be reset and used again.