New Ukrainian drone capable of bombing Russians from a distance of 2,000 km

The Ukrainian military has admitted that they have a drone capable of flying 2,000 km. And it is not a kamikaze. The aircraft, based on some sort of light-engine plane, is capable of remotely dropping bombs weighing up to 250 kg and returning to base.

Ukrainian drone. Source: orbitaltoday.com

New Ukrainian drone

On January 31, 2025, the Unmanned Systems Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces released a report confirming the presence of heavy bombardier drones in their inventory. This is reported by Orbital Today.

Ukraine has been striking targets deep inside Russian territory for months. However, it is predominantly believed to be done with long-range kamikaze drones, i.e. purely disposable vehicles.

The fact that among the devices used by the AFU were drones capable of dropping bombs remotely and returning back to Ukrainian territory was first reported in April 2024 by Forbes. Then one of such vehicles fell on the territory of Russia at a distance of 1,000 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

Such unmanned bombers were reportedly used to remotely drop 100-kilogram bombs on the Alabuga facility in Tatarstan. At that time, they supposedly cost 90,000 dollars, which is not much for a weapon of such a range. However, the AFU never confirmed anything on that occasion.

What kind of drone is that?

And now the existence of an unmanned bomber capable of flying 2,000 kilometers and coming back has been confirmed. However, the AFU never told us about it. It is clear that we are talking about a commercial or sports airplane that has been converted for remote control. However, it is still unknown which model is in question.

According to one version, it is an improved Ninja drone built by Kyiv-based Aerosor. It can fly 600 km with a 160 kg bomb load. However, it is also very similar to another Ukrainian development — the A-22 Foxbat from Aeroprakt. One of them crashed last year while attempting to attack the same Alabuga, and two more managed to cause tangible damage to the production.

Another candidate for the role of the basis for the Ukrainian unmanned bomber is the E-300 Enterprise from the Ukrainian company AeroDrone. It is claimed that it can fly 3,100 km with 300 kg of cargo.

Why is Ukraine switching to bombers?

Ukraine has used all these models of heavy drones to strike Russia before. But only as kamikazes. The bomber variant was needed to increase the frequency of attacks, because drones have to be reused for this.

According to German Smetanin, Ukraine’s Minister of Strategic Industry, Ukraine has produced 30,000 drones for the year, but any industry has its limitations. Therefore, a reusable bomber is a really good idea.

According to orbitaltoday.com

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