Ukraine announced that it has completed testing of a UAV with a range of 1,000km, the weapon, if deployed, can make a big change on the battlefield.
Kyiv Independent on January 13 reported that Ukrainian defense contractor Ukroboronprom announced that it had completed testing of a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Earlier, Ukroboronprom stated that their new UAV could be one of Kiev’s most effective weapons ever.
Project director Oleh Boldyrev at the time revealed that the Ukrainian military would soon receive UAVs capable of striking deep into areas controlled by Russia.
Boldyrev said that this UAV has similar characteristics to the Iranian-made Shahed-136 UAV that Kiev and the West accuse Russia of using to attack Ukraine.
However, the Ukrainian official said that this UAV has characteristics that make it special.
“The new UAV has a suicide attack feature. But the Ukrainians don’t think that’s enough. We will have a suicide UAV capable of turning back,” he said.
This means that the new Ukrainian UAV is capable of hitting an opponent several times. The UAV’s attack range is 1,000km and weighs 75kg. The Ukrainian official did not explain more clearly what the mechanism of multiple attacks is.
Ukroboronprom said it used components from abroad to manufacture this UAV, but the software, means of communication with ground stations, assembly, and maintenance of the UAVs are all undertaken by domestic experts.
Ukrainian media said that this new UAV, if put into service, could be the answer to Russia’s large-scale raid campaign in the past few months on key Ukrainian infrastructure, using guided missiles. Precision lines and suicide drones.
The appearance of a new line of UAVs with an attack range of up to 1,000km can become a major threat to Russia and may complicate the war situation in the near future.
If Ukraine successfully develops a UAV with a range of 1,000km, this could make a difference on the battlefield as Kiev can expand its capabilities to target further Russian targets in the future without having to rely entirely dependent on Western aid.
