Video footage shared online this week shows the moment a Ukrainian air defense system was completely destroyed by a Russian loitering munition.
The video offers a look at the strike both from the perspective of the loitering munition that conducts the strike as well as from an additional unmanned aerial vehicle recording the incident from above.
According to Ukraine Weapons Tracker, a popular war-tracking Twitter account, the video shows a Ukrainian g launcher, part of the S-300PS air defense system, being taken out by a Russian Lancet drone.
“A Ukrainian 5P85S launcher of the S-300PS air defense system was destroyed by a Russian Lancet loitering munition in #Kherson Oblast,” Ukraine Weapons Tracker writes.
“A 5P85S launcher to the left can also be seen hit on the missile containers which didn’t detonate.”
The 5P85S is the main vehicle that transports the S-300 air defense system. It carries four missile silos that are mounted to the back of the vehicle.
What makes the clip particularly interesting, however, is the fact that the neighboring 5P85S launcher didn’t detonate despite being hit by the same strike.
Some Twitter users responded to the video speculating that one of the launchers was a decoy and the other real. It is unclear why the neighboring launcher did not detonate.
The video is just one of many examples of Russian forces deploying the Lancet drone against Ukrainian targets. Earlier this month, a video shared online showed a Russian Lancet loitering munition taking out a Ukrainian boat in the Dnipro River, close to the city of Zaporizhzhia.
The clip, also shared by Ukraine Weapons Tracker, shows the strike both from the perspective of the drone – until the moment it strikes the boat – and also from an additional drone recording from above.
The ZALA Lancet drone is one of Russia’s newest weapons. Officially unveiled in 2019, the Lancet drone features eight wings, has a maximum range of 25 miles, and can be armed with either high-explosive or high-explosive-fragmentation warheads.
The drones are operated remotely and perform strikes against aerial targets at extraordinary speeds.
#Ukraine: A Ukrainian 5P85S launcher of the S-300PS air defense system was destroyed by a Russian Lancet loitering munition in #Kherson Oblast.
A 5P85S launcher to the left can also be seen hit on the missile containers which didn’t detonate. pic.twitter.com/pWZ0YDLjFL
— ???????? Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) April 27, 2023
When the drone is ready to strike its intended target, it accelerates to a speed of 190 mph, allowing it to quickly catch up to enemy drones and aircraft.
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
