Ukrainian heavy drone wreaks havoc on Russian forces, UAV unit commander says

The very "powerful" and deadly "bird," which is not publicly known, has a range of 15 km and can lift up to 40 kilograms of explosives, causing "immediate panic" among Russian soldiers in their dugouts, which are the drone's main target, along with vehicles, warehouses and command posts.

It carries “several 60-120 mm caliber mines or other non-standard large ammunition,” which allows it to “hit more targets in one flight.”

"We only operate at night because the drone is quite large and noisy," Hunter said, adding that the enemy has repeatedly tried to shoot it down or intercept it with electronic warfare, but has failed because the Heavy Shot is more resilient. 

The drone is also equipped with a GPS system that allows it to automatically return to base.

On Sept. 6, Commander of the Ukrainian Drone Systems Forces, Vadym Sukharevsky, said that the Armed Forces had increased their use of FPV drones in combat zones by 25% in August compared to June.

On Feb. 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree to establish a separate branch of the Armed Forces dedicated to drone systems—officially named the Drone Systems Forces.