Ukraine Produced More Than 30,000 Bomber Drones In Year
17 January, 2025 Drone bomber with HEAT munitions in service with the "Birds of Magyar" unit, 2023 Last year, the Ukrainian defense industry supplied more than 30,000 bomber drones to the strike units of the Defense Forces. This was stated by Minister of Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin during the visit of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"Our enemies call them 'Baba Yaga' because these drones have really become a nightmare for them. Working mostly at night, they inflict painful blows on enemy equipment and personnel. There are already dozens of bomber drones in Ukraine, and over 30,000 units were manufactured last year," the minister wrote.
He noted that, in addition to direct strike missions, heavy drones are effective in remote mining. They are used as an effective means of delivering ammunition, medicine, water and food where it is impossible to reach by land. Starmer and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited stands with models of Ukrainian drones and talked to their manufacturers.
Politicians were presented with production drones, such as the Hor reconnaissance drone, the twin-engine Avenger bomber drone in the version of a carrier for two FPV drones, and a number of multi-rotor bomber copters. Among the samples was also an R-34 drone with an unknown munition, which looks like an adjusted munition.
Unlike the Ukrainian-made projectiles for UAVs common in the military, this projectile has a complex body with aerodynamic surfaces for maneuvering. It is possible that it can use laser beam guidance technology or an optical target acquisition system based on machine vision algorithms. The heavy lift drone is equipped with guides for four munitions, but judging by the size of the demonstrated projectile, the drone's actual ammunition will be smaller.
An R-34 bomber drone and a likely new corrected drone munition, January 2025. Photo credits: Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine
Previously, the Russian military had reported that the Ukrainian military had used bomber drones with laser-guided bombs. One of these drones was shot down in early August 2024.
A bomb with an optical guidance system was found on board on one of the suspensions.
A Ukrainian BK-3OF high-explosive guided ammunition, August 2024.
Photo credits: Telegram/VictoryDrones
The body of the high-explosive munition bears the marking BK-3OF and a serial number, which may indicate serial production.
In addition to its name, the notch on the case also indicates its purpose, which affects the formation of fragments of the same size.