File image.
Russia’s state corporation Rostec has unveiled an enlarged version of the Molniya-2 fixed-wing multipurpose drone on the sideline of the Belarus 2026 National Security Exhibition, which opened its doors in Minsk on June 17.
The new Molniya-13 maintains the overall design of the original version, but appears to be around twice larger, with four wing-mounted electric motors instead of just two.
Rostec said in a statement that the drone can carry a payload weighing as much as 13 kg, which is more than 30 percent of the maximum payload of the Molinya-2. At the same time, the drone more than doubles the range to around 50 kilometers, all while maintaining a speed of up to 120 kilometers in hours.
The Molniya-13 could be used for surveillance or to deliver cargo, according to Rostec. While the corporation didn’t mention that the drone can be used for one-war attack missions like its predecessor, there is nothing suggesting that it can’t be.
For such missions, the drone would need a simple first-person view (FPV) guidance system made up of a camera and a two-way datalink.
Click to see full-size image. (Rostec)
A photo that surfaced online after Rsotec’s announcement suggests that the Molniya-13 is already being tested by the Russian military in the special military operation zone in Ukraine.
Click to see full-size image. (X)
The Molniya-2 has been widely nicknamed “the AK-47 Kalashnikov of drones” due to its simplicity, affordability, and battlefield effectiveness. The Molniya-13 very much maintains all of these qualities while providing a larger payload and a longer range.
It’s worth noting that the developers of the Molniya-2 have been experimenting with several concepts. Reports from last year revealed that the drone could soon get a jamming-immune fiber-optic guidance system. The idea of using the drone as a carrier to deploy smaller FPV suicide quadcopter is also being tested. Ukraine is meanwhile attempting to produce its own copy of the drone.
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rooskies will have drones the size of b-52’s soon.
that’ll sh*t the whole lot of them off. biggest and the best not made by burgerlander dumbf*cks
💩💩💩 = 🇺🇲 =🇮🇱