According to a RIA Novosti report, Lancet drones are now striking targets at ranges of over 100 km.
In the past, it has been reported that the Product 51 (Lancet-3) variant of the drone has a range of 40–70 km, with an endurance of approximately 60 minutes.
The increase in range and endurance is attributed to increased battery capacity. In addition, the use of machine vision and EW-hardened SATNAV now facilitates more efficient routing to the target, effectively increasing range.
Using machine vision, the drone can quickly recognise its target or select a target of opportunity without the need to loiter.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, machine vision assisted terminal guidance facilitates strikes on stationary, moving and camouflaged targets, including artillery installations, armored vehicles and military infrastructure facilities in the depth of Ukrainian defense.
It is interesting to note that Lancet developer ZALA has focused on improving endurance and efficiency without radically altering the drone’s core design—X-shaped wings, electric propulsion, and a maximum take-off weight of around 12 kg.
Earlier this month, Alan Lushnikov, CEO of the Kalashnikov Concern, told TASS in an interview that the Skat-350M reconnaissance drone and the KUB-2 guided munition can now be integrated into a single system. When the Skat-350M spots a target, a KUB-2 is launched and then autonomously guided to the target by the Skat-350M.
This capability is part of broader integration within Russia’s unmanned systems, in which reconnaissance drones provide targeting data to strike assets. Similar integration with the Skat-350M would allow a Lancet to operate effectively at extreme ranges, such as 100 km.
The Skat-350M is an enhanced variant of the Supercam 350M.
The Skat-350M can use optical navigation and target identification in GPS-denied zones and can be controlled from well outside the battle zone, as explained in my earlier Thumkar post. Once the drone exits the jamming area, it can transmit coordinates to the kamikaze drone.
Lancet drones can also receive target coordinates from Orlan-10 drones for direct targeting.
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