ZALA Lancet attack drone. © Marina Lystseva/TASS
The Russian military continues to use Lancet loitering munitions to take out high-value equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with great success.
On November 15 and 16, several videos documenting recent Lancet strikes against the AFU surfaced online. The pinpoint strikes targeted the following equipment:
- A Soviet-made MT-T Eney heavy multipurpose transporter-tractor;
- A Soviet-made T-72M1 battle tank;
- A Soviet-made BM-21 multiple rocket launcher;
- A Soviet-made 9K33 Osa short-rang air-defense system;
- A Soviet-made 5N63S fire-control radar for S-300 long-range air-defense system;
- Three U.S.-made M777 155 mm towed howitzers;
- A French-made CAESAR 155 mm self-propelled howitzer.
The ZALA Aero Group, a subsidiary of Russia’s defense giant Kalashnikov Concern, produces two versions of the loitering munition, the Izdeliye-51 and Izdeliye-52.
The Izdeliye-52 is the base version of the Lancet with an endurance of 40 minutes and a three-kilogram warhead. The Izdeliye-51 is an improved version that features a more aerodynamic design with extended X-shaped wings which enable it to stay in the air of up to an hour and carry a warhead weighting five kilograms.
Both the Izdeliye-51 and Izdeliye-52 are equipped with an elector-optical system and a two-way data-link. This allows them to detect, track and lock on static and moving targets.
The Russian military has been using loitering munitions against the AFU since the beginning of the special operation in Ukraine. The small radar cross-section and minimal infrared signature of the Lancet makes it nearly impossible to track or intercept.
