The Molniya aircraft-type kamikaze attack drone reached its target using a conventional mechanical compass installed directly on the device's body. Footage of the unusual navigation system was published by the Telegram channel "Osvyedomitel".
An additional camera on the drone shows a compass, which the operator periodically checks for flight direction. The camera is lowered to verify the course, after which control continues in the set direction. In the published episode, Molniya carried two mortar shells as its combat load.
A mechanical compass does not rely on satellite navigation signals, so such a solution can maintain the ability to hold a given course during electronic suppression of GPS and GLONASS.
This is an auxiliary navigation method: the published footage confirms the use of a compass, but does not provide grounds to claim that it completely replaces other drone control systems.
Molniya belongs to the aircraft-type UAVs and is produced in several variants. For the Molniya-2 family, a flight range of over 100 km was previously reported when using the NSU 4.0 V2 light ground control station.