Russia's 'Most Effective' New Weapon Revealed by Ukraine Ally

Russia's Lancet kamikaze drones are "one of the most effective" new weapons debuted by Moscow in Ukraine in recent months, the U.K. government said, as the Kremlin gains on Kyiv's lead in the drone war.

Russia's Lancet uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have "highly likely been one of the most effective new capabilities that Russia has fielded in Ukraine over the last 12 months," the British defense ministry said in its latest update on Wednesday.

The Ukraine war has spurred the rapid development of drone technology, with Kyiv and Moscow funneling resources into the production of land, waterborne and aerial drones. Kyiv has built up its "army of drones," and its drone tsar—Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov—has said that the country is on the path to becoming "a world leader in drones production."

"I don't think that there is any doubt that Ukraine is winning the drone conflict," U.K.-based drone expert Steve Wright told Newsweek in early August.

But Marina Miron, a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of War Studies at King's College London, in the U.K., pointed out that the gap between Russia and Ukraine is narrowing. "Russia has been somewhat behind in drones, but it is slowly catching up," she also told Newsweek at that time.

Russia has made extensive use of cheap suicide drones, also known as "kamikaze" or one-way-attack drones, since it began its invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian artillery soldiers fighting in Ukraine's counteroffensive told Reuters in late June that the Lancets were one of Moscow's key threats after Russia upped their use in recent months.

The Lancets are designed to fly over enemy territory, then detonate close to a target once it is identified, the U.K. defense ministry said.

"Russia deploys Lancets to attack priority targets and they have become increasingly prominent in the key counter-battery fight, striking enemy artillery," the U.K. said. The conflict, which has now surpassed the 20-month mark, has been deemed an "artillery war," and equipment like counterbattery radars allows each side to hunt down the other's crucial firepower.

"Traditionally, Russia has used small UAVs mainly for reconnaissance," the British defense ministry said. "With its attack capability, Lancet has been a step change in how Russia uses this category of weapons."

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.

In late October, U.S.-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Moscow had rolled out a new version of the Lancet for small-scale operations in Ukraine, citing Russian military bloggers.

With each Lancet thought to have a price tag of around $35,000, they are a more cost-effective way for Russia to strike Ukrainian targets than using missiles. They can also be used to mount swarm attacks on Ukrainian targets and overwhelm air defenses.

The Kremlin's forces are reportedly testing the kamikaze drones "for mass synchronized swarm strikes," the ISW said on Saturday.

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