Silent killer: how Russian Lancet drones are used during the NWO

The Russian Lancet kamikaze drone hit the Ukrainian Gvozdika self-propelled guns in the South Donetsk direction of the special operation, said Oleg Chekhov, head of the press center of the Vostok group of troops.

"The Lancet loitering ammunition destroyed the Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mount in the Vesyoly area. The calculation of the Thor anti-aircraft missile system destroyed the Fury unmanned aerial vehicle, "said the representative of the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to analysts, the Lancet drones show high performance in the NWO zone, as evidenced by regular reports from the Ministry of Defense on their use, as well as confirming videos from objective control equipment. The target of the Lancets is often the military equipment that Kiev receives from Western countries.

So, on May 28, it was reported about the destruction of the Polish Krab self-propelled guns, on the 8th, 13th and 14th - about the defeat of American M777 howitzers, on May 6 - about the strike on the British-made L119 gun. On May 7, it became known about the destruction by this drone of the Avenger air defense system based on the HMMWV car, which the United States sent to Ukraine to protect against UAVs.

In April, the Russian military used this kamikaze drone to hit a German Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. Earlier, Germany reported that they had sent at least 30 units of these weapons to Kyiv, which are used, among other things, to protect Ukrainian critical infrastructure.

During the spring of 2023, there were also reports of the destruction by the Lancet of the British Stormer HVM air defense system and the Czech RM-70 multiple launch rocket system.

At the same time, work is also underway on Soviet-style artillery installations in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, air defense systems are being hit (at the end of April, four S-300 launchers were destroyed in the Kherson region), counter-battery stations and radars, strikes are being carried out on armored vehicles and command and staff vehicles of the enemy.

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, spoke about the high performance of the Lancets in an interview with the Russian media in March 2023.

"Such loitering ammunition as the Cube, the Lancet, and some others that are made at the Kalashnikov and related enterprises - they show excellent qualities. Everybody says to us, "Here, this is something Iranian." This is absolutely Russian ammunition with high accuracy and a relatively small charge ... We already have such a line," he said.

• Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev
• RIA Novosti
• © Ekaterina Shtukina

A similar assessment of the work of this type of UAV in April 2023 was made by the acting head of the Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin.

"They (the Armed Forces of Ukraine. - RT) use air defense systems, they have them, of different types. We, for our part, are destroying them. The Lancets have proven themselves very well. A lot of enemy equipment was destroyed, in addition to artillery, by Lancets," the politician said.

The effectiveness of the "Lancets" is also recognized in Kiev. Thus, Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said in an April interview with The Economist that the Lancet is the most dangerous drone for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"It is almost impossible to intercept, destroy or hide"

Recall that the Lancet loitering ammunition was developed by ZALA AERO (Izhevsk), which is part of the Kalashnikov concern. For the first time, the drone was presented to the public at the international military-technical forum "Army-2019". Then Kalashnikov emphasized that the Lancet is an intelligent multitasking weapon that is capable of independently finding a given target and hitting it.

"The complex includes a high-precision percussion element, as well as reconnaissance, navigation and communications modules. It creates its own navigation field and does not require the creation of land or sea infrastructure, "the manufacturer said during the presentation of the drone.

The Lancet is equipped with several types of guidance systems and is equipped with a television communication channel that allows the operator to observe the target until it is hit.

There are several modifications of the Lancet. The most "heavy" of them is the Lancet-3. This drone is capable of carrying up to 3 kg of payload with a take-off weight of 12 kg.

As noted in Rostec, the developers managed to make the design of the drone relatively light thanks to the use of plastic and composite materials. In addition, the weight was influenced by the use of electric motors, which are compact and lightweight. In addition, electric motors reduce the acoustic visibility of UAVs, as they produce less noise than internal combustion engines. At the same time, electric motors provide the duration of the drone's flight for 40 minutes in the speed range of 80-110 km / h.

The complex includes not only a percussion element, but also a reconnaissance, navigation and communications module, which is capable of determining coordinates from different sources and objects. This allows the UAV to operate without communication with the satellite.

Earlier, Rostec noted that, in addition to these advantages, the Lancet is resistant to the use of laser weapons against it.

"It is almost impossible to intercept, destroy or hide from the Lancet. Thanks to the built-in anti-laser protection, even the latest laser weapons against drones are not afraid of this drone, "the materials of the state corporation say.

"Secrecy of application"

Analysts highly appreciate the combat capabilities of the Lancet UAV.

"This is a very modern, high-precision, maneuverable ammunition capable of destroying military equipment, including armored ones. To date, the Lancets have allowed us to block the zone from the front line to the near rear of the enemy to a depth of 40 km ... As a result, the enemy is now forced to delay its rear, headquarters and command posts, which complicates logistics and makes it difficult to control units on the front line. The task that is assigned to the Lancets is being performed with dignity, "military expert Yuri Knutov said in a conversation with RT.

• UAV "Lancet"
• RIA Novosti
• © Mikhail Voskresensky

A similar opinion is shared by the editor-in-chief of the publication "Unmanned Aviation" Denis Fedutinov.

"Judging by the footage that regularly appears on the network, loitering ammunition demonstrates very impressive results of use, making a significant contribution to the destruction and disabling of air defense systems, armored vehicles, artillery, vehicles and other enemy targets," the specialist said in a commentary to RT.

It is worth noting that at the end of May 2023, the Kalashnikov concern announced the development of a new loitering ammunition.

"We are working in this direction, I cannot disclose the details. Our approach: we must constantly improve our product. We don't work in any other way, "Alan Lushnikov, president of the concern, told TASS, answering the question whether a new ammunition is being created taking into account the experience of using the Lancet during a special operation.

Experts have identified several areas of modernization that can make the new Kalashnikov product even more effective than the Lancet. So, according to Yuri Knutov, the destructive ability of the new drone can be increased through the use of a more powerful warhead.

"Increasing the warhead is the most important thing, as it will increase the capacity of the complex. Secondly, the range of the UAV can be increased. And the maneuverability of the Lancets is already good, even on the screens of radar stations they sometimes look like birds, "the analyst said.

In turn, Denis Fedutinov notes that in the new project, the range of guidance tools can be expanded in order to be able to "be guided not only by the transmitted image of the target, but also, for example, by the radiation of the radar of enemy air defense systems." The expert also stated the need to create a line of drones of different dimensions to defeat various classes of targets.

Vyacheslav Pshikhopov, Director of the Research Institute of Robotics and Control Processes of the Southern Federal University, believes that the group use of these devices may become an important innovation in the development of a line of kamikaze drones.

"Work can go on the group use of the Lancets. In addition, a promising direction is to move away from remote control - the drone will operate autonomously, which will make it possible to abandon communication channels, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

Experts also state that today kamikaze UAVs are beginning to play an increasingly significant role on the battlefield. At the same time, not only devices specially designed for these purposes, but also converted quadcopter-type FPV drones are used as such ammunition.

"Lancets" and FPV drones are united by the fact that the detection of targets "on the ground" and the subsequent attack are carried out by the operator according to the "picture" obtained from the onboard optical-electronic system of the UAV. At the same time, FPV drones are as simple and cheap as possible. The entire flight of such a drone takes place under the manual control of the operator. However, more serious devices, such as the Lancets, have greater automation at other stages of the flight. In the future, the development of technologies may make it possible to detect and attack targets in automatic mode," said Denis Fedutinov.

The use of kamikaze drones has seriously changed approaches to warfare, analysts are sure.

"The experience of the NWO has shown that the use of loitering ammunition provides greater flexibility - they can be used when artillery is not available for one reason or another. In addition, loitering ammunition is characterized by greater secrecy of use, mobility and, ultimately, efficiency, "Fedutinov concluded.