MOSCOW REGION, RUSSIA – JUNE 25, 2019: A ZALA Lancet-3 attack drone developed by Kalashnikov Concern on display at the Army 2019 International Military Technical Forum at Patriot Park. Marina Lystseva/TASS
The Russian military has struck a Soviet-made Su-25 close air support fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) using a Lancet loitering munition.
The Su-25 was on the ground in the Dolgintsevo Air Base in Kryvyi Rih region, more than 60 kilometers away from the front in the special military operation zone, when it was struck by a Lancet. The loitering munition hit the nose and cabin of the jet, possibly placing it out of service permanently.
The UAF had around 60 Su-25UB, Su-25K and Su-25M1 when the Russian special military operation began in 2022. Ukraine later received additional jets of this type, reportedly more than 14, from Belgharia and North Macedonia. Still, most Ukrainian Su-25 have been already destroyed on the ground or shot down by the Russian military.
The Lancet, which was used to target the Ukrainian Su-25, was developed by the ZALA Aero Group, a subsidiary of Russia’s defense giant Kalashnikov Concern.
The company produces two versions of the loitering munition, the Izdeliye-52 with an endurance of 30 minutes and a one-kilogram warhead and the larger Izdeliye-51 that has an endurance of 40 minutes and is armed with a warhead weighting three kilograms.
The loitering munition flies towards the designated area with a GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system. After arriving in the area, the operator utilizes an onboard electro-optical system via a two-way data-link to detect, track and lock on the target. A laser-ranging system then controls the detonation of the warhead.
The small radar cross-section and minimal infrared signature of the electric-powered loitering munition makes it very difficult to detect and intercept.
Ukrainian attempts to stop Lancet loitering munitions with air defense fire, electronic warfare or countermeasures have been mostly unsuccessful.
According to Lostarmour.info, a website that tracks and documents military losses, the Russian military has so far used the Lancet to destroy or damage four warplanes of the UAF on the ground. The number includes only strikes verified by video.
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