Ukrainian Peklo drone-missiles will be cheaper than Liutyi drones
16 December, 2024 Peklo drone-missile. Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky Ukrainian designers have lifted the veil of secrecy about the latest Peklo jet drones, revealing the production volumes and characteristics of their development.
The new details about the recently unveiled strike drone are published by Ekonomichna Pravda. According to the developers, the production of the new missile drone costs less than the Ukrainian Liutyi kamikaze drone. The price of the latter reached £200 thousand at the beginning of the year.
The idea to develop the Peklo came about after consultations with the military, who asked for a relatively cheap weapon with a small warhead for targets several hundred kilometers away. In August 2023, the designers presented the first sketches and have been working for a year since then. The project was funded by the manufacturer, and it cost him several million dollars.
A Peklo drone-missile`s jet engine.
Screenshot from a video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi
The Peklo drone-missile, which is actually a small cruise missile, is several times faster than conventional attack drones thanks to its jet propulsion, reaching speeds of up to 700 km/h and covering a distance of 700 kilometers. Officials did not disclose the weight of the new missile's warhead, but the article notes that it weighs significantly less than the 100-kilogram warhead of a similar Palianytsia missile drone. The designers compare it to those used in conventional long-range drones, which carry 30 to 50 kg.
Navigation and targeting of the missile are based on a classical scheme, which is based on an autonomous inertial system with correction by GPS satellite signal. The designers are also working on more sophisticated guidance methods that will be integrated in future versions. The manufacturers pointed out that the jet engine had made it possible to realize higher technical characteristics, while making it impossible for Ukrainian attack drones to launch from a catapult or runway, which were traditional for the Ukrainian drones.
The method implemented for the Peklo has not been announced, but conventional cruise missiles use an air launch from an aircraft or a solid rocket booster when launched from special ground launchers to gain initial speed.