Ukraine has created a reconnaissance and strike drone Backfire, which costs less than $30,000 and can carry two cluster munitions and is not afraid of electronic warfare

By: Maksim Panasovskiy | 03.08.2023, 15:56

The Ukrainian Defence Forces have received a new unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone is called Backfire and has already been actively destroying enemy targets for more than six months.

Here's What We Know

The development of the drone began more than a year ago, and for more than six months it has been in service with the Angry Birds unmanned strike aviation unit. This was reported by junior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ilya Shpoliansky.

Backfire is characterised primarily by its resistance to electronic warfare. According to the sergeant, for several months of active use they have not yet lost a single drone. The number of drones fired is not specified.

Backfire strikes at predetermined coordinates and then returns to the specified point, where it is picked up by the operator. The drone can carry two 1.8kg cluster munitions, can reach speeds of up to 84km/h and can climb to a height of up to 1km. It has a range of 35 kilometres.

The cost of one unmanned aircraft system is $90,000. It consists of a control station, a launcher and three drones. This means that one Backfire costs less than $30,000. There are now five projects in production, including FPV drones, so the development team is raising almost $500,000.

Source: Espresso