Throughout the war in Ukraine, drones have proven one of the most effective and cost-efficient weapons. Russian and Ukrainian forces alike have depended on drones, including kamikaze drones, to perform precision strikes on enemy forces and positions.
Videos have emerged throughout the war showing these drones taking out infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, and more. Often, the drones used to perform these strikes are regular, commercially available drones that have been adapted for use with grenades and other forms of ammunition.
Ukrainian forces have been particularly inventive in their use of drones, but Russia quickly caught up. Using Iranian-made Shahed drones, which differ from rotary-blade drones in that they use fixed-wing technology to perform strikes, Russia has begun fighting back against Ukraine from the air – all without deploying its most advanced fighter jets.
News this week also reveals how Moscow is dramatically ramping up its use of low-cost kamikaze drones, which are designed to explode upon impact.
Lancet drones, a tubular drone with four wings, has proven one of the most effective weapons for Russia in recent weeks, and videos shared on pro-Russian social media channels showing the weapons taking out everything from Leopard 2 tanks to Caesar howitzers.
Reuters reports how several Ukrainian servicemen from multiple artillery crews described the Lancets as “one of the main threats”: they face every day, with some saying that the frequency of their use had dramatically increased in recent months.
“Earlier, in spring, they were not using Lancets as often as they are now,” an artillery gunner told the outlet.
And while Russia might be catching up, Ukraine continues to use cheap drones to conduct precision strikes that are crippling Russian forces on the battlefield.
Watch Ukraine Take Out Russian Tanks
Video footage shared by the Ukrainian 23rd Airborne Brigade shows Russian tanks taken out by the Operational Command North of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The video footage, recorded from the perspective of a rotary blade kamikaze drone, shows two Russian tanks speeding down a rural road.
One tank looks as though it is attempting to outrun the drone, with plumes of dust and dirt being kicked into the air from the vehicle’s tracks as it speeds along the field.
The video cuts out the moment that the drone reaches the tank, indicating that it exploded upon impact – and additional footage recorded from a nearby drone shows the moment the drone strikes the tank.
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An additional clip then shows the second tank being hit by an additional drone.
