Ukraine: what is the “Russian doll” drone, what would Putin’s troops use?

The Ukrainians nicknamed it the “Russian doll” drone, in reference to matryoshkas, these small wooden figurines that fit together. An online article from the magazine Forbes (new window) reports that Russian forces have begun using nesting drones on the battlefield, a new type of unmanned flying machine capable of carrying small attack drones on board, thus increasing their range of action . The American media relies on the statements of Serhiï Beskretnov, one of the main Ukrainian commentators on military technology.

In mid-September, this reserve officer and radio transmission specialist reported on a Russian attack that was unusual to say the least. “One of our units was hit by two standard FPV drones (…) This happened at a distance of 40 km from the front line. Presumably, both drones were brought [derrière nos lignes] by a large reusable ‘queen’ drone, the model of which has not yet been identified”he writes in a message published on his Telegram channel (Serhii_Flash), which has more than 81,000 subscribers.

If this expert in military technology hypothesizes that Russian forces may have used a “Russian doll” drone, it is quite simply because FPV-type attack drones are not able to cover such a distance. Even with the best batteries, their maximum range cannot exceed 30 km. According to specialists, it could be the Burya-20 model (as you can see in the tweet above).

Expanding the scope of attack drones

The Ukrainian media Defense Express describes the device as a “kind of mothership” for small attack drones. According to the latter, the Burya-20 can fly at an altitude of 3,000 meters and be remotely controlled at “70 kilometers“from the ground control center. Acting as a relay station, each of the drones on board can move away at a distance of 15 km.”The idea is that the mothership’s camera uses artificial vision to detect the target and transmit the information to the operator, who makes the decision to attack“, according to Defense Express which devotes an online article to it (new window).

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Other models of this type are under development. At an arms and defense technology exhibition held last August in Moscow, the Russian company Svyaz SpecZaschita unveiled “The Admiral”, a drone carrier capable of carrying two small drones attack over a distance of 320 km.

Earlier this year, Russian state media shared images of another model of drone carrier, the “Pchelka”, which can carry up to seven units. According to Forbesthe Ukrainian Defense Forces are also reportedly developing nesting concept unmanned aircraft.