ZALA Lancet attack drone. © Marina Lystseva/TASS
Between March 20 and 22, Russian news sources shared videos documenting five recent strikes with Lancet loitering munitions against Kiev forces within the special military operation zone in Ukraine.
The strikes hit an American-made M777 towed 155 mm howitzer, a Soviet-made D-20 towed 152 mm howitzer, a Soviet-made D-30 towed 122 mm howitzer, a British-made Stormer HVM short-range air defense system and an unidentified main battle tank, possibly a Soviet-made T-72.
The Lancet loitering munition 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 40 minutes and a three-kilogram warhead and the larger Izdeliye-51 that has an endurance of an hour and is armed with a warhead weighting five kilograms.
Both versions of the loitering munition are equipped with a GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system as well as an electro-optical system that can detect, track and lock on static and moving targets.
Since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, there have been well over a 100 documented strikes with Lancet loitering munitions. Kiev forces are struggling to counter the loitering munition. Western supplied air defense systems, electronic warfare means and countermeasures do not appear to be effective against the Lancet.
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The fact ZALA Lancet was able to take out Stormer HVS, UK’s most advanced anti-air is just impressive.
Stooge: it’s a HVM but your point is correct. If the HVM was taken out by the Lancet then it’s either impressive of the Russian system or atypical of the NATO systems that are overpriced; overvalued and overthehill.
Stormer apparently has not a search radar, so it’s not so difficult as well. Anyway, my though is that Stormer was actually missed by the lancet, landed a few feet away.
I think in the case of those striking the turret is the best option, without that it’s worse off than an m113.
Wow amazing stuff could the British radar now see it coming piece of crap. 🇷🇺 🇷🇺 🇷🇺 🇷🇺
The most impressive thing that such small UAV can destroy even tank, i thought it can damage, but not take it out completely. New version or luck.
Russia doubled the explosives and increased the engine size. Now they have three sizes. I prefer they only had the biggest size. One big size fits all.
But it’s harder to operate with bigger units, need more people.
it’s also about where you hit it, striking artilley from the breech seems like the best approach, it has the best chance to disable, and that’s all you need really, remove its effectiveness.