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Lithuanians Found a Way to Use Ukrainian 'Topaz' UAVs as 'Killer Drones' and Bring Them to the Ukrainian Army

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UJ-23 "Topaz" UAV / Illustrative photo credit: Ukrainian Military Pages
UJ-23 "Topaz" UAV / Illustrative photo credit: Ukrainian Military Pages

In another fundraiser initiated by the Lithuanians, volunteers aim to bring 100 "killer drones" for the Ukrainian Army

Lithuanian people continue to impress with another fundraiser started to "make a present for the Independence Day" – a campaign initiated once again by TV journalist Andrius Tapinas managed to collect two million euro from all over the world to buy UAVs for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The fundraiser was jokingly called the "Legion of Boom" since the goal is to buy one-way drones delivering explosives upon the enemy. The vehicles in question are the Warmate loitering munition from Polish WB Group and the UJ-23 Topaz.

Read more: ​When Will Ukraine Get the Anti-Tank Loitering Munition Switchblade 600

"These angry killer drones can lift explosives and warheads, fly low undetected by ruzzian systems, zoom to the target and then – boom. They can hit tanks, command posts, even bridges and airfields," said Andrius Tapinas on his Facebook. So far, the amount of funds collected has exceeded €1 million.

Defense Express has already covered the capabilities of the Warmate munition which can, if needed, act as a reusable recon UAV as well. Whereas the choice of Topaz is interesting in its own way.

The thing is, unlike Warmate, the UJ-23 Topaz does not actually carry a warhead since it's basically not a loitering munition. Topaz is designed as a multi-role aerial vehicle for use by the Army, special services and rescuers. Although the designers of UkrJet noted it has "interchangeable payload" capability. According to the manufacturer, the drone can lift up to 10 kilograms of payload and reach a cruising speed of 600 km/h.

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UJ-23 "Topaz" unmanned aerial vehicle's specifications / Data from: UMEX-2022 catalogue / Credit: Ukrspecexport

Taking into account the configuration of the Topaz as a fixed-wing vehicle, it’s quite unlikely it will drop explosives like the copters do but deliver warhead in the "kamikaze" manner.

Read more: ​"Vanagas", the Lithuania-purchased Bayraktar Drone for Ukraine