The russian Scientific and Production Center (SPC) Ushkuynik, best known for its fiber-optic Prince Vandal (or Prince Vandal of Novgorod) FPV drone, is working on the development of its own loitering munition. According to russian propaganda media, this information was disclosed by the company's chief designer. The new weapon is intended to operate on the battlefield in coordination with the company's existing FPV drones.
As for technical details, it is currently known only that the loitering munition's flight range is expected to exceed 50 km. According to the chief designer, its employment concept is similar to that of the Lancet loitering munition, which has already demonstrated its effectiveness on the battlefield. In this configuration, the Prince Vandal FPV drone is expected to serve as a communications relay for the new munition.
Read more: russia May Lose Molniya Drone Production After Strike on Taganrog Factory
It cannot be ruled out that such interaction has already been tested using the Lancet itself. At the same time, SPC Ushkuynik emphasizes that it is deliberately building its own ecosystem of unmanned aerial vehicles of various types.
In particular, in addition to the Prince Vandal FPV drone, the company has recently launched serial production of the Prince Oleg the Prophet (Knyaz Veschiy Oleg) reconnaissance UAV. According to the developer, work is underway to increase its endurance, which currently stands at around 3.5 hours.
SPC Ushkuynik is also developing a jet-powered strike drone, which is claimed to be capable of speeds exceeding 500 km/h. It can be assumed that this project refers to a so-called middle-strike UAV, positioned between FPV drones and full-fledged cruise missiles.
Furthermore, the same SPC announced back in 2023 that it had begun work on AI-assisted anti-aircraft FPV drones. Among the concepts reportedly under consideration were interceptor drones equipped with nets for engaging Ukrainian UAVs.
Previously, Defense Express reported that SPC Ushkuynik had developed a new fiber-optic naval drone, analyzing how dangerous it could be and what limitations such a system may face.
Read more: russia Copies iranian Karrar Drone as Geran-5, Plans to Arm It With Air-to-Air Missiles
