A Forpost-R combat drone. Screengrab, via the Russian Ministry of Defense.
On March 31, the Russian Ministry of Defense released video footage showing a Fropost-R combat drone in action over the special military operation zone in Ukraine.
In a brief statement, the ministry said that the drone detected a convoy of Kiev forces then participated in the attack on the convoy with high-precision weapons.
The Forpost-R is a modernized variant of the original Forpost drone, which is a licensed copy of the Israeli IAI Searcher. This version is made from Russian components and has a domestic software. The drone has a takeoff weight of 500 kg, a range of 400 kilometers and an endurance of 18 hours at an altitude of up to 6,000 meters.
In the Russian MoD footage, the drone can be seen armed with two KAB-20 light glide bombs. The bomb is available in two versions, the Kab-20L that is guided by a GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system, and the Kab-20S, which is also equipped with a semi-active laser seeker.
The KAB-20 carries a seven kilogram high-explosive fragmentation warhead that is designed to engage manpower and lightly armored targets.
The Forpost-R can be also armed with the X-BPLA missile, an air-launched version of the Kornet-D anti-tank laser-guided missile. The specifications of the new missile are yet to be revealed. The ground-launched Kornet-D has a range of up to 8 kilometers and the ability to penetrate 1,300 mm of rolled homogeneous armor after explosive reactive armor.
The Russian military have been using combat drones, like the Forpost-R, the Kronshtadt Orion and the Luch Korsar, against Kiev forces since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. However, the operations of these drones remain shrouded in secrecy.
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Russia’s accelerated research and development of new weapons is something the West will come to respect more and more by fewer and fewer enemies.
Basically, Russia’s version of Bayraktar, how pathetic can Turkey get… you guys gave up all your weaposn to Russia…
I heard the Russians are developing a cheaper new different version of Dorito drones that will make even AAA obsolete.
Perahps it will the time of a good flycatcher.
They should use slower super Tucanos with extra gun pods. That way Ukraine can have more aces since the last ones are almost gone.
sounds like a lawnmower. Unbelievable such cheap objects are so successful in the modern battlefield.
really, they have just the performance of a WWI bomber. Let’s call Red Baron to defeat them.
very poor video quality. Almost unusable b/w low resolution!! China NEED to help this !
Ohotnik is best drone nowadays in the World, but it is yet to be used in combat.
We are seeing the war happening, from the other side of the earth. It is rather uncanny to see what happens on the front, with a mix of ultra-modern weapons and old weapons from WO2 era.
70 years old Il-28 light jet bombers carrying 3ton thermobaric bomb would be more effective than the whole current Russian air force together
Go to work, baby !