Solutions to win: Ukraine is developing analog of Russian Lancet drone
Photo: Russia 24 channel's screenshot
Ukraine is developing its own version of the Russian strike drone, "Lancet."
This drone can hit targets up to 40 kilometers away, Rubryka reports, citing the Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov in an interview with Forbes.
What's the problem?
The "Lancet" is one of the most effective drones Russians mainly use to destroy or damage large and important targets.
The "Lancet" belongs to the type of loitering munitions, devices capable of flying in the air for a long time, identifying targets, and diving onto them, exploding on impact. The latest generation drone, "Lancet-3," can accelerate up to 110 km/h during horizontal flight and up to 300 km/h during diving.
The most important thing about this drone is that it can fly up to 40 km. This is exactly what troubles Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines.
The Ukrainian army is experiencing a severe shortage of strike drones, as their mass production in the country is only gaining momentum, unlike in Russia or Iran.
"We have many copters and FPV drones in the 20 km range, but it is quite difficult to find a target within a 20 km range at night. We need to hit targets at 40 km," said Fedorov.
What's the solution?
Ukrainian engineers are working on a domestic counterpart to the Russian strike drone, "Lancet."
"The drones like 'Lancet' are quite high-tech, and it took half a year to ramp up the market in this direction," said the minister.
How does it work?
Fedorov noted that testing of similar drones is already underway in Ukraine. Moreover, there have already been cases of such drones being used by defenders, but they are still sporadic.
As the minister pointed out, the fate of contracts for the production of drones will be decided in the coming weeks.
"It's hard to name specific dates, but I think that within two months, there will be information in Russian publications about how their tanks are burning," said the minister.
What we know about Ukraine's drone production
Back in March 2023, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov announced that the Ukrainian army is actively transforming and gaining unique experience in the most technologically advanced war in history.
The Ukrainian market for drone production is actively developing; currently, there are over 100 companies in the country manufacturing drones.
Earlier, the head of Ukraine's security service announced that Ukraine has produced a unique maritime surface drone called "Sea Baby." The production of these drones is located in Ukraine, but the plants are underground.
The State Special Communications Service recently reported ordering hundreds of domestically produced drones from the largest national arms company, Ukroboronprom. They will be ready by the end of the year.
Ukraine has also started serial production of the domestic counterpart to Iranian-made "Shahed" drones. Dozens of such drones are produced each month.
Moreover, serial production of Cobra strike UAVs, developed by engineers from Kryvyi Rih, has begun: their flight range is up to 300 km.
The construction of a plant to produce Bayraktar drones continues in Ukraine. The Barkar company plans to produce over 100 drones there annually.
