The Russian drone manufacturer Aeroscan recently developed a new loitering munition, commonly known as a kamikaze drone.
The state television outlet Russia-24 has released a video showing what it says is the new Italmas (Izdeliye-54) kamikaze drone that offers long-range capabilities.
Video released by the television network shows the assembly line of new drones and contains footage of the first tests of the Italmas drone.
Engineers say the new drone is an evolution of the Lancet, has an internal combustion engine to increase its range, and is equipped with a larger warhead. The new drone reportedly demonstrated increased performance in engaging non-line-of-sight targets with over 200 km range.
“Italmas could significantly expand the range beyond which Ukrainian artillery and armored vehicles could previously feel relatively safe,” the report said.
Kamikaze drones, or suicide drones, are a type of aerial weapon system. They are known as a loitering munition because they are capable of circling for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only striking once an enemy asset is identified.