The latest version of the FP-1 long-range strike drone, or possibly the FP-2 medium-range strike variant developed by Fire Point, has been spotted with a pair of unusual structures mounted above its wings.
The photograph was published by Denys Shtilierman, Chief Designer at Fire Point, without any explanation of the new features.
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The structures are oval-shaped, relatively thin, and mounted symmetrically above both wings.
Before considering what they might be, it is worth noting that this was almost certainly a test flight of a new drone configuration.
Several details support that conclusion. Most notably, the aircraft carries a Pitot tube on its nose. This air-data sensor measures airspeed and altitude, and a forward-mounted Pitot tube is a typical feature of early flight-test aircraft.
Other details point in the same direction. The personnel visible in the photograph are using white flashlights, whereas combat launch crews normally use red lights to reduce their visibility at night. The drone itself also carries additional equipment, including an unidentified device on the tail assembly and several extra antennas.
One possible explanation for the wing-mounted bulges is that they house additional fuel tanks. Fire Point has previously stated that the drone's fuel tanks were moved into the wings, making conformal fuel tanks a plausible solution. Such tanks are normally designed to minimize aerodynamic drag. A similar approach has already been used on the extended-range version of Ukraine's Neptune cruise missile, often informally referred to as the "Fat Neptune."
If that is indeed their purpose, the upgraded FP-1 could potentially exceed the 3,400 km range previously announced for the version carrying a 60 kg payload.
Another possibility is that the bulges are fairings covering additional electronic warfare or other electronic systems. That immediately brings to mind the British Stone Cloak electronic warfare system, whose intellectual property rights were recently transferred to Ukraine. However, Stone Cloak has already been supplied to Ukraine in large numbers and is reportedly only about the size of a tablet computer, making it unclear whether these structures are related to that system.
It is also worth noting that Fire Point recently published a photograph showing the launch of what appears to be the FP-7 ballistic missile, or possibly its FP-7.x Freya surface-to-air variant. This is now the third publicly known launch of that missile family.
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