The Ukrainian company General Chereshnya, a member of NAUDI, has unveiled its first fixed-wingstrike drone, the Khmarynka. It is currently being handed over to the military for combat testing, which will help refine and scale up the product.
It is reported that this kamikaze UAV has a range of 50 km and a flight time of up to 60 minutes. Its warhead weighs seven kg, and its maximum speed is reported to be 140 km/h.
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The Khmarynka is designed to strike enemy positions, logistics, command posts, and warehouses. It is also inexpensive to produce and intended for mass deployment, helping to wear down russian air defenses.
This appears to be another Ukrainian counterpart to the russian Molniya, currently deployed on the front lines. It has already undergone upgrades to improve their resistance to electronic warfare.
In addition to strike missions, the russian design has been employed for a variety of other tasks. This includes serving as a mothership for FPV drones and conducting general reconnaissance. Additionally, the Molniya drones are equipped with mesh modems for establishing networks.
In other words, in addition to striking various targets and wearing down air defense systems, this class of UAVs may have other applications as well. This flexibility is largely facilitated by the system's affordability and mass production.
Currently, there are other drones in Ukraine similar to the Molniya, namely the Blyskavka from Vyriy Drone, which has a range of 40 km, extendable to 80 km with the use of a repeater. Its payload capacity is seven kg. The specifications of UAVs in this class appear to be similar.
Overall, the concept of an affordable fixed-wing drone is quite appealing and has a wide range of potential applications, so the emergence of domestic alternatives in this niche is significant. Other versions of the Blyskavka and Khmarynka may emerge in the future.
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