New Russian LANCET – no cruciform wings, new warhead, and guiding
MOSCOW, RUSSIA — According to sources from the ZALA Aero Group, the Russian Lancet kamikaze drones have been upgraded to take practical applications into account.
- China allowed Russians to freely buy UAVs, DJI is used in Ukraine
- Russia drops new ‘fire-and-forget’ bombs outside Ukrainian air defense
- Russian army expects domestic GPS and GLONASS remote receivers
It is noted that loitering ammunition Lancet received a new optical-electronic guidance system and a control system with new software, which affected its improved controllability.
It was also noted that the drone has lost its cruciform wings and received a more powerful warhead, which allows guaranteed hits on targets. However, the source did not report which cruciform wings were modified. BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that the Lancet has two cruciform wings – in the middle of the body and on the tail. The drone develops a speed of up to 110 km/h and can hit targets at a distance of up to 40 km.
It is worth noting that the Russian Lancet has three types of warheads – cumulative, high-explosive, and thermobaric. This allows you to increase the flexibility of their use and engage targets such as armored vehicles, including heavy tanks, artillery, radar, air defense systems, and the enemy manpower.
Different from the others
The loitering munition Lancet is the most successful Russian-made drone in the war in Ukraine. Dozens of other models failed, such as the long-touted and vaunted Orlan-10. However, the Lancet has changed the attitude of Russian troops regarding the use of drones in Ukraine.
At the end of 2023, a report appeared from the Russian Ministry of Defense that a large part of unmanned aerial vehicles did not meet the requirements and standards when covering state tests. This was one of the reasons why Moscow turned to Tehran for the delivery of the Shahed series of Iranian drones. The other reason is that before the start of the Russian invasion, Moscow did not have enough drones produced. However, they were sent to participate in the war in Ukraine.
The last attack
The last documented Lancet kill of the war and shared on the web was the attack on the British Stormer HVM. These vehicles were supplied by Great Britain to Ukraine.
A video shows the Lancet strike on the British Stormer HVM from the perspective of a second Russian drone. A second Russian drone, most likely reconnaissance and monitoring the battlefield, recorded the Lancet slamming directly between the chassis and turret of the Stormer HVM. The video ends with a huge plume of smoke coming from the British war machine but does not show exactly what the British war machine’s losses are. The high speed of the incoming kamikaze is impressive.
What do we know about Lancet?
The Russian Lancet drone has parameters that are common for kamikaze drones. From what we know, Lancet’s wingspan isn’t long – barely one meter. The warhead, or more precisely, the payload carried by the Lancet is up to 3 kg, and the weight together with the payload is only 12 kg.
Lancet’s speed is impressive. In search or tracking mode, the drone can reach speeds between 80 km/h and 100 km/h. However, when the target is already intercepted, the drone increases its speed to 300 km/h to ensure greater efficiency of the damage it is expected to inflict. The drone is powered by an electric motor.
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