Destinus Ruta, essentially a miniature cruise missile but often called a "missile drone," will receive a new navigation system enabling high-precision strikes in contested environments with denied access to GPS and other means of satellite navigation, in particular due to the enemy electronic warfare countermeasures.
The new navigation and guidance system will be provided by Spanish company UAV Navigation, part of Grupo Oesía, which announced entering an agreement with the Ukrainian Destinus.
Read more: Capabilities and Specs of Ukraine's Ruta Drone: It May Seem New, But It’s Been Around
As noted, this guidance, navigation, and control system was tested in "validated in real-world combat conditions, including GNSS-denied environments or under jamming and spoofing attacks" — apparently in Ukraine. The system supports navigation in low-altitude flight and is also responsible for terminal guidance.
Having analyzed the line of UAV Navigation products, Defense Express presumes that the operating principle of the proposed solution is a visual navigation system similar to DSMAC. It takes images of the surface underneath mid-flight to identify the location through comparison with a reference. Usually, this technology is used in full-fledged cruise missiles but progress has made it possible to make miniature variants and reduce its cost.
It is also worth noting that Ukraine's use of the Ruta missile drone was disclosed in late 2024, at the time it was undergoing tests. Later, Destinus reported on the delivery of another of its products, the propeller-driven Lord UAV with a strike range of 750–2,000 km, to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The Ruta mini-cruise missile, according to the announced specifications, has an operational range of 300 km. The warhead weight or general payload capacity are not revealed, but analysts assume it may well be in the range of tens, up to a hundred kilograms.
Earlier Defense Express pointed out that Ukraine has a whole new branch of the armed forces named the Unmanned Systems Forces, becoming the first country to establish a corps specializing in drone warfare in its structure on such a scale.
Read more: Leidos Unveils America's Brand New 100kg Small Cruise Missile with 640 km Range
