A plastic canister with a handle and a French thermal imager were found in an experimental Russian Merlin-BP drone

A few days ago, the Ukrainian military shot down experimental Russian drone "Merlin-VR". The drone came to volunteer Pavel Kashchuk, who took it apart and demonstrated what technological progress looks like in Russian.

What we know

"Merlin-BP was presented less than a year ago, last September. Russia claimed that the drone was a "unique solution" and a "technological breakthrough" due to the use of a hybrid propulsion system. It was assumed that by switching to electric propulsion, the enemy would not be able to detect the UAV.

As it turned out, the Merlin-BP is equipped with a simple engine that has not yet been identified. The starter-generator was purchased in China. A unique drone must have unique technology. While the "Orlan-10" uses a bottle, the "Merlin-BP" has a plastic canister with a handle as a fuel tank.

No European components were used. Like the Orlan-10, it has a French thermal imaging matrix. But in this case it is Lynred (Ulis) PICO1024 with a high resolution. An Israeli-made lens is also used.

Pavel Kashchuk stressed that there are marks on the body of the drone, which may indicate the start of mass production. It is possible that more than one Merlin-VR will appear in the sky over Ukraine.

Source: Pavel Kashchuk

For those who want to know more:

• The Russians showed what was left of the Serna boat after being hit by Bayraktar TB2
• Ukrainian sappers will receive a batch of TALON robots for demining territories
• Lithuania bought six modern EOS C VTOL drones for Ukraine and named them "Magila" - they will help send the occupiers to the grave
• The Russian occupier stole the TV, fixed it on the tank and went on the offensive
• The Armed Forces of Ukraine showed the work of the French CAESAR self-propelled guns and explained in detail how to use them
• Hundreds of Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drones, M777 howitzers, Mi-17 helicopters and HIMARS MLRS – details of US military aid for $1,000,000,000 have been revealed
• The Ukrainian army began to use the unique BMP-1TS and BTR-4MV1 in battles
• Ukrainian military for the first time showed the Burevіy MLRS on the Tatra chassis
• Ukrainian artillery destroyed the Russian warehouse with ammunition and "Grads" (video)
• Ukrainian military demonstrated on video how Brimstone missiles destroy Russian equipment
• A 15-year-old Ukrainian with the help of a DJI quadrocopter helped destroy a convoy of Russian equipment
• The Russians passed off the inaccuracy of the Solntsepyok TOS system for successful shots - the drone operator did not immediately understand where the missiles fell
• The Ukrainian military showed a "homemade" MLRS mounted on the chassis of an ordinary car