Russia to Say 'Hello' to Ukraine with New Kamikaze Drones

Russian armed forces’ latest kamikaze drone, the Privet-82 (“Hello-82”), has cleared tests during its combat deployment in Ukraine.

"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 unmanned aerial vehicle was demonstrated to representatives of battalions from 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 Oko design bureau told government-owned TASS on Friday.

As of now, 12 Privet-82 kamikaze drones are present in the area of the special military operation in Ukraine, the design bureau said.

"We are in constant contact with the units that have received our UAVs," it said.

The new combat drone has an operational range of 30 km, can accelerate to 140 km/h and carry a 5.5 kg payload.

Privet-82 reconnaissance version

Specialists of the Oko design bureau have also tested the Privet-82 drone in its reconnaissance modification, it said.

"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 Oko design bureau said.

The Privet-82 drone in its reconnaissance modification will boast extended flight duration of 1.5 hours, it said.