South Front
MOSCOW REGION, RUSSIA – JUNE 25, 2019: A ZALA Lancet-3 attack drone developed by Kalashnikov Concern on display at the Army 2019 International Military Technical Forum at Patriot Park. Marina Lystseva/TASS
The Russian military has destroyed more howitzers and rocket launchers of Kiev forces within the special operation zone using Lancet loitering munitions.
Between March 27 and April 2, videos surfaced online showing recent Lancet strikes against a Polish-made Krab self-propelled 155 mm howitzer, an American-made M777 towed 155 mm howitzer and two Soviet-made BM-21 multiple rocket launchers.
Another video that appeared during the same period shows a pinpoint strike by a Lancet loitering munition on what appears to be a command and control, or a communication vehicle of Kiev forces.
The Lancet was developed by the ZALA Aero Group, a subsidiary of Russia’s defense giant Kalashnikov Concern. The company produces two versions of the loitering munition, the Izdeliye-52 with an endurance of 40 minutes and a three-kilogram warhead and the larger Izdeliye-51 that has an endurance of an hour and is armed with a warhead weighting five kilograms.
The loitering munition flies towards the designated area with a GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system. After arriving in the area, the operator utilizes an onboard electro-optical system via a two-way data-link to detect, track and lock on the target.
The small radar cross-section and minimal infrared signature of the electric-powered loitering munition makes it nearly impossible to intercept.
In the last few months, the Russian military stepped up the use of Lancet loitering munitions against Kiev forces. During March, 46 videos documenting strikes with the systems surfaced online. All the targets that appeared in the videos were either damaged or destroyed.
