In Russia, trials of a prototype heavy unmanned drone — an analogue of the "Baba Yaga" — have been completed. As Pavel Kamnev, an expert on national projects in the UAV sector, told EAN, the drone is built on a modular scheme. In one minute, the aircraft switches between tasks: dropping a TM-62 mine, carrying four high-explosive fragmentation shells, serving as a carrier and relay for FPV drones, or delivering food and ammunition.
The new drone is fully autonomous: it operates under electronic warfare interference and does not require operator involvement when carrying out a flight mission. The design makes it possible to quickly change the payload directly in field conditions, which expands tactical deployment capabilities.
The exact name of the new drone and its manufacturer have not yet been disclosed.
According to Kamnev, serial production of heavy drones of this class has been underway in Russia since 2023. Widespread deployment had previously been constrained by a shortage of trained operators — controlling recoverable systems requires different skills than working with FPV. Since 2025, the Russian Ministry of Defence has required manufacturers to send specialists for one-month training of crews on the line of combat contact, which has made it possible to increase the presence of such aircraft.