- Drone maker Valeriy Borovyk told CNN that he’s building “very stealthy” drones for Ukraine.
- He said the drones can be used to carry out surprise attacks on “very expensive” Russian equipment.
- He told CNN that his team is developing some long-range drones, as well.
A Ukrainian drone maker said he’s building “very stealthy” drones that can carry out surprise attacks on Russian equipment.
Drone maker Valeriy Borovyk told CNN that he calls the drones “Vidsyich,” which is Ukrainian for “repel.”
“We mostly concentrate [our attacks] on very expensive [Russian] equipment,” he told CNN.
With a range of 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, he told the outlet, they can carry a warhead weighing 2-3 kilograms, or 4-6 pounds.
He told CNN that his team is developing some long-range drones, as well.
“From 15 kilometers to 700 kilometers, depending on the warhead,” he said, which would be about nine to 435 miles. “With a 20 kilogram [warhead], we can go all the way to Moscow.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, drones have been a large part of warfare on both sides.
In May, a report from the UK’s Royal United Services Institute, citing unnamed Ukrainian officers, estimated that Ukrainian troops are losing up to 10,000 drones a month in combat.
James Patton Rogers, a University of Southern Denmark war-studies professor and drone expert, told Insider reporter Mia Jankowicz that most lost drones were likely small surveillance drones.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov told CNN that first-person-view drones have been a “game changer” in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
“FPV drones are becoming more and more relevant on the front line because it’s an opportunity to do a targeted strike, helping narrow the focus of artillery,” Fedorov told CNN. “So we need tens of thousands of FPV drones every month.”
