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
On March 23 and 24, several videos documenting recent Russian strikes with Lancet loitering munitions on howitzers of Kiev forces surfaced online.
The strikes damaged or destroyed two American-made M777 towed 155 mm howitzers, two Soviet-made 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled 122 mm howitzers, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled 155 mm howitzer and an American-made M109 self-propelled howitzer.
Another video showed a Lancet loitering munition destroying a fuel tanker of Kiev forces which caused a massive fire that spread to other military equipment.
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, which is powered by an electric engine, 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 low-flying profile, small radar cross-section and minimal infrared signature of the Lancet makes it nearly impossible to intercept.
The Russian military has been using Lancet loitering munitions against Kiev forces since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine more than a year ago. So far, there have been more than 150 documented strikes with the advanced system.
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