Russia is said to have taken effective countermeasures against Bayraktar TB2, while Ukraine has not yet discovered a way to neutralize the threat posed by the Lancet-3.
When it obliterates a sizable number of Ukrainian vehicles on the battlefield, the Russian Lancet suicide drone (UAV) is said to be very effective. The Lancet is a battlefield weapon that is primarily used against military targets, unlike the Iranian-made Shahed-136 UAV that Russia used to attack the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.
The Lancet-3M, weighing 15 kg and moving at a speed of roughly 112 km/h, is the model currently in use in Ukraine. The operator of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may use the camera in the nose to locate and identify the target before accelerating and executing a 305 km/h dash attack with a 5 kg armor-piercing warhead. The reconnaissance drone will locate the target before the Lancet is launched, and the maximum strike range of the Lancet is approximately 40 km.
According to Oryx claims, the Lancet UAV damaged 10 towed cannons, 7 self-propelled howitzers, and 6 launchers in its purported destruction of Ukraine’s high-value artillery and air defense systems. a radio relay station, four surface-to-air missile launchers, and the Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle. Additionally, this UAV consistently and successfully engages tanks, armored personnel carriers, and numerous other light armored vehicles.
This UAV does, however, have some limits, according to experts of Oryx, a blog devoted to tracking combat damage. Oryx estimates that the Lancet has made several fruitless attempts to miss or obliterate the target. Ukraine made a video of the damage caused by Lancet’s attack on a howitzer after Russia posted pictures of the attack. Ukrainian soldiers claimed that only one wheel was harmed by the Lancet drone, and that with the replacement of that wheel, the howitzer would function once more.
Even though the Lancet-3 isn’t a “one-shot attack” weapon, it is still regarded as one of the most potent and effective UAVs in Russia’s arsenal for highly precise destruction of valuable targets.
How many Lancet drones can Russia deliver to the front lines is the current question. Rostec, a Russian manufacturer, claimed in October that it could supply the military with enough Lancet UAVs, but that it was still awaiting purchase orders. According to Oleg Katkov, editor-in-chief of the Defense Express website, sanctions may hinder Russia from mass building Lancet UAVs. Electronic components imported from China, the United States, and France are used in the construction of several Russian drones. Since the sanctions went into effect, Russia is reportedly finding it difficult to find a substitute supplier for the microprocessors used in some military equipment.
According to some commentators, the performance of the Lancet UAV is still somewhat better than that of the Bayraktar TB2 UAV, which is manufactured in Turkey. Russia is claimed to have efficient defenses against Bayraktar TB2, but Ukraine has not yet discovered a way to eliminate the threat posed by the Lancet-3.
When it attacked numerous Russian military targets in the early stages of the conflict, the Bayraktar TB2 was once regarded as the “ideal weapon” for Ukraine. However, the presence of this UAV on the battlefield is currently waning.
The TB2 UAV’s usefulness has come into question because to its decreased frequency of use on the battlefield and the scant media coverage it has received. Many analysts are attempting to explain why TB2 lost control of the market so soon.
Some individuals think that one of the reasons why the TB2 UAV is useless is because Russia has bolstered its defense systems and used jamming techniques. Samuel Bendett, a specialist in robotics and autonomous systems, pointed out that Russia’s air defense and electronic warfare capabilities had greatly advanced since the beginning of the conflict. This expert claims that Russian forces used electronic devices to jam and obstruct the UAV’s transmission after using early warning radar to locate the UAV. To shoot down enemy drones, Moscow also used a variety of weapons, such as machine guns and air defense systems like the Tor missile system.
Expert on geopolitics and defense issues Ashish Dangwal wrote in a commentary for the Eurasian Times that while Russia is using UAVs like the Lancet-3 and Sahed-136 (originating in Iran), Ukraine’s UAVs are performing less well in the new phase of the conflict.
Russian media believed that one of the primary factors in the reduction of TB2 UAVs on the battlefield would be the gas agreement between Russia and Turkey. According to rumors, Vladimir Putin of Russia has demanded that Ankara halt drone shipments to Ukraine in order to retain the two countries’ gas accord. Turkey is not anticipated to make any fresh deliveries to Ukraine as a result. According to a source in Kiev, the Turkish company Baykar recently decided against establishing a drone factory in Ukraine.
