- Ukraine has fielded a new homemade Shahed-like drone.
- The Azov brigade says it is easy to operate and already hunting Russian targets.
- Russia’s Shahed drones, both Iranian and domestically produced, have been incredibly lethal.
Ukraine has a new combat drone that resembles one Russia has been relying on throughout the war. Its soldiers say the homemade Shahed-like aircraft is easy to use and already giving them an edge in striking front-line Russian targets.
On Monday, Ukraine’s 12th Special Operations Brigade, known as the Azov Brigade, shared photos of its newest weapon. The veteran Ukrainian unit released a video of the drone striking a Russian truck.
The brigade said that this new drone, identified as UAS SETH, allows operators to conduct drone operations more efficiently against Russian troops and equipment. The unit said that the new drone is entirely produced in Ukraine. The foundation Come Back Alive provided the first batch of these new drones, which are being used in the Toretsk sector.
Ukraine has heavily prioritized drones, seeing them as an invaluable tool that will save lives by reducing the human cost of war. The country is planning to spend over $2.6 billion on roughly 4.5 million first-person-view drones this year.
Ukrainian manufacturers have been working on new drone models, as well as software and other technologies to resist Russian signal jamming and other electronic warfare. Another priority is autonomous capabilities, which would make it easier to find and hit targets accurately and effectively.
Ukrainian companies and units have said drone developers are working closely with operators on what assets are most needed on the battlefield and on how Ukraine can continue to increase its domestic drone production.
12th Special Operations Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine
Details on the new Ukrainian drone are few, but it notably resembles the Shahed drone series. Originally developed by Iran, the Shaheds have been a lethal strike option for Russia in the war. Russia has also produced a version of these aircraft.
The one-way attack drones, technically loitering munitions, are powered by gas engines with a pusher propeller. The new Ukrainian drone looks a lot like the Shahed-136, a popular delta-wing drone, that has been used to attack Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.
United24, a Ukrainian government-affiliated platform, reported that the Ukrainian drones appear to have an electric engine and may require a catapult launcher. It said that the design indicates it may be able to deliver a 6-11 pound payload over 30 miles.
It also said there are indications it may be resistant to certain types of electronic warfare.
The Shaheds Russia uses as a supplement to its precision-guided munitions have a much farther range, making them less applicable as a tactical solution.
Ukraine has had success shooting down Russian systems like the Shahed-136 with cheap, mobile air-defense solutions like truck-mounted guns. But some variations, like a newer Shahed-238, are faster and fly higher, creating new challenges.
12th Special Operations Brigade “Azov” of the National Guard of Ukraine
Azov said that the new Ukrainian UAS is automated, indicating that it can loiter overhead and then engage targets with the support of an automated targeting system.
Last December, during a meeting with German leadership in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspected different drones in development. One of the weapons on display at the time looked similar to the new system now in use with Azov.
Drones have been at the forefront of the Ukraine war, as has been the development of countermeasures to stop them.
The majority of UAVs rely on radio frequencies to maintain connections with operators, but these can be scrambled or jammed by electronic warfare capabilities. In response, both sides have worked on ways to avoid signal jamming or use drones that don’t rely on radio frequencies altogether, such as fiber-optic ones.
AI drones are a potentially game-changing area of emerging technology that is rapidly coming online. The evolution of counter-drone systems has forced Ukrainian drone operators to constantly adapt, as well as figure out new capabilities.
