Russia Developing Unguided Weapons for Drones

Unlike global trends where attack drones are equipped primarily with guided weapons, Russia is developing a series of unguided rockets and bombs for use on the aircraft.

The project to develop the weapons has received the green light from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Izvestia reported citing its sources on Thursday. A family of new lightweight bombs and missiles will also be developed for drones to destroy targets close to the enemy troops.

Also read: Russian Drone Attack

In early August, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu boasted that Russia now has drones that operate at a distance of thousands of kilometers. During his visit to the Novosibirsk Aircraft Building Plant, Shoigu expressed hope that the development of Okhotnik heavy strike UAV would be completed next year. This will make it possible to conclude a contract for Okhotnik serial production.

In January 2021, government-owned news organization TASS reported that Hunter-B, a 46-foot-long, jet-powered flying wing drone, dropped an unguided 1,100-pound bomb from its internal bay. A month later, Russia for the first time released a video showing its Orion drone dropping guided munitions and dumb bombs.