Ukraine completes development of domestic equivalent of Russian Lancet drone

Yahoo

21-02-2025

Russian Lancet kamikaze drones have been a major problem for the Ukrainian forces since late 2022. They can penetrate up to 40 km into Ukrainian-controlled territory and operate in coordination with the Zala reconnaissance drone, which also serves as a signal relay.
Source: Economichna Pravda
Details: OSINT communities have recorded approximately 3,000 instances of Ukrainian equipment being hit by these drones. Although they are almost entirely composed of Western electronics, sanctions have not prevented Russia from increasing their production.
Discussions about developing similar kamikaze drones in Ukraine have been ongoing for several years. However, due to the complexity of these UAVs, their widespread deployment in the Ukrainian military has taken longer than even the introduction of deep-strike drones capable of hitting oil refineries hundreds of kilometres away.
Currently, several Ukrainian companies are engaged in the development and production of such drones. One of the most advanced models was recently presented by the Ukrainian company Deviro at the Defense Tech Innovations Forum 2025 hosted by Brave1.
Deviro has named its new UAV Bulava, a project that took nearly two years to develop and cost the company millions of dollars. The final stage of development was completed just two months ago. The Bulava can be deployed and launched within 20 minutes using a pneumatic catapult.
To enable operations at depths of up to 50 km, the Bulava employs MESH technology, which allows it to work in tandem with the reconnaissance drone Leleka 100M2. The Leleka 100M2 locates targets and simultaneously relays communication signals.
Ukrainian forces are already using the Leleka 100M2 for reconnaissance missions. If necessary, they can separately purchase the Bulava and integrate it with their existing Leleka drones. The developers say this process is no more complicated than pairing AirPods with an iPhone.
The Deviro drones are equipped with an inertial navigation system, enabling them to measure the distance travelled and estimate the remaining distance to the target. They can also navigate by visually analysing surrounding objects and comparing them with satellite imagery.
Bulava in testing
Photo: Deviro company
The Bulava is armed with a 3.6 kg warhead featuring a thermobaric-cumulative effect, which ignites targets with incendiary compounds and delivers a focused blast wave. Some units have already received the drones and successfully struck several Russian targets. Video footage of these strikes will be published on Economichna Pravda's Telegram channel.
Currently, the drone is undergoing codification procedures, after which it will be ready for initial contracts. The exact price of a serially produced Bulava remains undisclosed but is expected to be in the tens of thousands of dollars per unit.
Ukrainian company Deviro has manufacturing facilities in both Ukraine and Czechia. European Pravda reports that both plants are currently fulfilling orders for the Ukrainian military. The Czech facility is primarily funded by European partners, while the Ukrainian facility operates under state contracts.
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