The Russian Ministry of Defense has released areal footage showing a kamikaze drone smashing into a Ukrainian Stormer short-range air defense vehicle and turning it into a ball of smoke and fire.
According to footage, the Russian armed forces took out a British-donated Stormer HVM air defense system using the Lancet-3 kamikaze drone.
The Stormer HVM (High Velocity Missile) is a 13-tonne missile launcher. It was developed primarily to counter the threat of attack helicopters and low-flying aircraft posed to armored formations.
The British Stormer can ‘see’ the enemy vehicles from 18 kilometers away and its missiles’ range of 1.5 – 5.5 km. It is equipped with Starstreak man-portable air defense missiles.
The Stormer has eight ready-to-fire rounds, 12 reloads, and a roof-mounted targeting package including an infrared sensor.
Ukraine’s military received the first batch of British-made Stormers in July 2022.
As to Lancet, it is a loitering munition, also known as a kamikaze drone, which is making a significant impact on the conflict by allowing Russian troops to attack Ukrainian high-tech and expensive weapon systems such as radars or long-range artillery.