What happened

Approximately 13 improvised, GPS-guided drones carrying custom-built bomblets attacked Russia's Khmeimim airbase and the Tartus naval facility in Syria on the night of 6 January 2018, in what analysts at Bellingcat described as an unprecedented coordinated drone-swarm attack using crude, homemade aircraft built from plywood, plastic sheeting and tape. Russia's Ministry of Defence said electronic-warfare systems took control of six drones (three landing intact, three exploding) while Pantsir-S1 air-defense systems destroyed seven others; at least two drones were recovered relatively intact. No group claimed responsibility, and Russia alleged the drones had launched from the Muazzara area of Idlib province roughly 35km from the base, without naming a specific perpetrator. No casualties were reported from this attack, though a separate 31 December 2017 incident at Khmeimim had killed two Russian servicemen, with circumstantial evidence suggesting the same actors may have been involved. This record introduces this historically significant early drone-warfare milestone to the site's airbase/airport-strike coverage, added following the extension of the backfill window back to 2016.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.