The Privet-82 suicide drone. Source: the Oko design bureau.
A new type of Russian suicide drones, dubbed Privet-82, have successfully completed tests in the special military operation zone in Ukraine and are now being prepared for their combat employment, the Oko design bureau told TASS on June 2.
“The Privet-82 has passed flight tests on the territory of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in the area of the special military operation. The tests checked the flight range, the radio channel and the drone’s resistance to local electronic warfare systems,” the Russian news agency quoted the design bureau as saying.
According to Oko, the Privet-82 has been already demonstrated to the Cascade and East operational/tactical combat formations, the Russian Guard and the Wagner private military company.
“Work is underway to outfit the drones with payloads and prepare them for their first combat employment that will take place already in the coming days,” the design bureau said.
The small fixed-wing suicide drone, which features a man-in-the-loop optical guidance system, has an operational range of 30 kilometers, can accelerate to 140 kilometers per hour and carry a 5.5 kg payload.
As of now, at least a dozen Privet-82 suicide drones are present in the special military operation zone in Ukraine, Oko revealed.
“We are in constant contact with the units that have received our UAVs,” it said.
Last March, Oko released footage showing a successful live-fire test of the Privet-82. During the test, the suicide drone hit a static target with pinpoint accuracy.
The design bureau is now working on a reconnaissance version of the drone that will boast extended flight duration of 1.5 hours.
“In the zone of the special military operation, we showed and tested our drone in our reconnaissance configuration. We received good input and recommendations for the drone’s fine-tuning. It is necessary to slightly modify the camera installed on the recon drone, following which it will go into mass production,” the bureau said.
The Russian military has been using suicide drones, also known as loitering munitions, since the start of the special operation in Ukraine last year. In recent months, these systems inflicted heavy material and human losses on Kiev forces. The introduction of new, cheap to make suicide drones like the Privet-82 will add to Kiev’s problems.
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