A cheap, light but deadly kamikaze drone has been making the difference in the Ukrainian battlefields for several months.
And now, even the MSM is starting to catch on to the unavoidable conclusion: the Lancets are ‘one of the most effective’ new weapons used by Moscow in Ukraine.
A mainstream magazine has a source in the U.K. government say so, as the Kremlin harshly negates the narrative of ‘Kiev’s lead in the drone war’.
Newsweek reported:
“Russia’s Lancet uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have ‘highly likely been one of the most effective new capabilities that Russia has fielded in Ukraine over the last 12 months’, the British defense ministry said in its latest update on Wednesday.”
Watch: self-propelled artillery hit by Lancet.
Right up until August, Newsweek would still listen to ‘experts’ say that Kiev was superior in this regard.
“Russia has made extensive use of cheap suicide drones, also known as ‘kamikaze’ or one-way-attack drones, since it began its invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian artillery soldiers fighting in Ukraine’s counteroffensive told Reuters in late June that the Lancets were one of Moscow’s key threats after Russia upped their use in recent months.”
Lancets fly over enemy territory and detonate close to a target once it is identified.
“‘Russia deploys Lancets to attack priority targets and they have become increasingly prominent in the key counter-battery fight, striking enemy artillery’, the U.K. said. The conflict, which has now surpassed the 20-month mark, has been deemed an ‘artillery war’, and equipment like counterbattery radars allows each side to hunt down the other’s crucial firepower.
‘Traditionally, Russia has used small UAVs mainly for reconnaissance’, the British defense ministry said. ‘With its attack capability, Lancet has been a step change in how Russia uses this category of weapons’.”
Watch: hit by Lancet, Buk-M1 missile system explodes spetacularly.
A Lancet costs around $35,000, a much more cost-effective way to strike Ukrainian targets than using missiles or a barrage of artillery ammunition.
They can also be used to mount swarm attacks on Ukrainian targets and overwhelm air defenses.
Back in September, Forbes already reported on the renewed impact of the Lancet as it hit a MIG-29 fighter on an airfield for the first time.
“An explosives-laden Russian drone struck and damaged an air force Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter on the tarmac at Dolgintsevo air base near Kryvyi Rih on or before Tuesday. Despite claims to the contrary from some observers, there’s little reason to believe footage of the attack is fake.
The MiG, one of dozens in Ukrainian service, might be repairable. But that’s not the real problem.
No, the real problem is that Russia’s one-way “suicide” drones apparently now range as far as 45 miles. That’s the distance between Dolgintsevo air base and the front line in southern Ukraine.”
With this new range, Ukraine’s main air bases, and the scores of MiGs and Sukhois based at them, are now ALL within range of the tiny drones.
Military Chronicle reported on Telegram about an even deadlier update made to the loitering munitions: a new guidance system. With the appearance of the Izdeliye-53 on the battlefield, the situation may change radically.
“Units of the Russian Armed Forces began using a new type of Lancet drone with an automatic guidance system against ground targets.
Watch: one Ukrainian T-64 tank tows another, gets hit by Lancet.
‘Izdeliye-51’ and ‘Izdeliye-52’ were used against targets in semi-automatic mode. To accurately hit a vehicle or object, operator intervention was required. The new Izdeliye-53 drone reduces the influence of the human factor on the process of hitting a target and increases the chances of destruction with the first hit.”
Without operator, it recognizes targets against the background, chooses military priority targets and captures them for strike.
The Lancet auto-guidance system is being tested to synchronize drones as part of a swarm.
“The appearance and distribution of Izdeliye-53 among the troops (both in individual transport and launch containers and self-propelled launchers on various chassis) will allow the use of new loitering ammunition more widely, in new tactical scenarios and for new tasks. For example, to create ambushes, organize massive combined strikes against various targets, deny access and maneuver.”
Watch: two tanker trucks hit.
Meanwhile, it surfaces that the number of recorded and published episodes of the use of the Lancets has reached 700.
Slavyangrad reported:
“By the evening of October 22, 2023, exactly 700 episodes of the use of Lancet kamikaze drones in the SMO zone had been published. Unfortunately, over the past two months, the number of videos published online has dropped sharply.
Of the 700 targets, 221 were destroyed, and another 369 targets were damaged. The results of the other 57 hits could not be accurately determined. Unfortunately, blunders were recorded in 50 videos.”
The targets are towed guns and mortars, self-propelled guns, MLRS, tanks and heavy special equipment, light armored vehicles, radars and air defense systems.
It bears remembering that only a small part of the episodes of the use of the Lancets are published immediately, so the impact is probably much bigger.
This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
