Ukraine is already mass-producing the domestically developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an armored warhead copied from the Russian Lancet drone, the Kyiv Independent writes. Ukraine is currently aiming to produce one million military drones a year, some of which are specifically designed to disable armored military vehicles. To this end, Ukraine's military industry has copied one of Russia's most successful weapons, the ZALA Lancet anti-tank drone, according to the international V4NA news agency.
The official name of the UAV, dubbed 'Ukrolancet' on social media, is not yet known. However, its mass production kicked off in February this year with specifications including a 3-kilogram warhead and a range of 100 kilometres. The drone is capable of destroying both static and moving targets and has already been deployed in live missions against a Russian air defense system. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky personally inspected the new technical device and its capabilities. Ukrainie is expected to produce "several hundred" of them a month.
Due to their limited range and relatively small explosive charge, the Lancet drones are usually used against high-value targets such as military command posts and are preceded by reconnaissance drones. Even close hits, however, do not guarantee the destruction of the intended target. Russia is allegedly running into difficulties manufacturing these drones because they use US-made circuit boards from NVIDIA and AMD. The price of the drones is estimated at around $35,000, according to the Remix News portal.
Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: Hans Lucas via AFP/Frederic Scheiber)
