Ukraine identifies Russian gasoline-powered drone resembling Lancet

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on defense technologies, said a new enemy drone had been spotted on the front. “It resembles the Lancet in shape but has a gasoline engine. We are waiting for captured examples to study. Get in touch,” he said, according to TechRadar.

Photographs show red stars painted on the wings, but TechRadar said nothing visible in the images identifies the aircraft or its intended role. Beskrestnov said the name, manufacturer and specifications had emerged but declined to release them until they were confirmed, the report said.

The clearest reported difference from the Lancet is the gasoline engine. The Lancet, developed by ZALA Aero Group, uses an electric motor and is designed to strike artillery systems, armored vehicles and radar installations; it launches from a catapult and comes in versions with different warheads.

A combustion engine burning gasoline could allow longer missions without reliance on battery capacity, depending on fuel use and design. The new drone’s flight duration, operational range and payload capacity have not been disclosed, which prevents comparison with existing Russian unmanned aircraft.

Ukraine’s defense has previously identified an updated Lancet with a redesigned antenna system, a change that potentially affected the drone’s communications, though Ukrainian defense reporting said its forces kept intercepting the upgraded systems. That claim has not been independently confirmed.

The new drone could give Russian forces another propulsion option for missions where extended endurance is an advantage, though the extent of its deployment is unknown.

At a defense forum in Kyiv last month, Ukrainian military officials and industry representatives warned that battlefield technologies were evolving rapidly. Participants urged faster innovation and wider use of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and asked engineers to forecast Russian developments six months to one year ahead.

Ukraine has expanded domestic drone manufacturing, with locally produced systems accounting for 95% of unmanned aerial vehicles procured for its armed forces. Russia has also expanded drone manufacturing; satellite imagery showed the Alabuga zone in Tatarstan grew by 340 hectares in a year, according to TechRadar.

Ukraine’s military intelligence said Russia produces about 3,000 Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones per month and seeks more capacity at Alabuga. TechRadar cited Bloomberg reporting on plans for more than 7 million FPV drones, while Beskrestnov estimated Russia’s yearly strike drone capacity at 36,000 to 40,000 units.

With both sides expanding drone factories, the gasoline-powered aircraft is an indication of what may follow as manufacturers keep testing new engines and designs, according to the report.