Eyes in the Sky: A Comprehensive Survey of Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as a transformative feature of the battlefield. Ukraine’s Armed Forces, fighting a numerically superior enemy, have turned to a diverse arsenal of drones to level the playing field, using them for reconnaissance, artillery correction, electronic warfare, and increasingly for direct attack. This essay surveys the wide spectrum of UAVs in service with Ukraine as of mid-2025, categorising each according to type and role, and including available technical specifications and payload capacities.

I. Tactical Reconnaissance and Artillery Correction Drones

These UAVs are the workhorses of the Ukrainian front, primarily used to locate enemy positions, guide artillery fire, and assess battle damage. Many are hand-launched, small, and expendable.

1. Leleka-100

• Type: Tactical fixed-wing UAV

• Origin: Ukrainian

• Role: Artillery spotting, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance)

• Wingspan: 1.98 m

• Range: 45 km

• Endurance: 1.5–2 hours

• Payload: EO/IR (Electro-Optical/Infrared) camera

• Communication: Radio, with encrypted data transmission

• Launch method: Catapult or hand-launched

• Recovery: Parachute

• Note: Widely deployed at battalion level.

  
  

2. Furia

• Type: Tactical fixed-wing UAV

• Origin: Ukrainian

• Range: ~50 km

• Endurance: 3 hours

• Payload: EO/IR gimbal

• Navigation: GPS and inertial

• Notes: Frequently used with GIS Arta fire correction system.

  
  

3. PD-1 / PD-2 (People’s Drone)

• Type: Medium-range tactical UAV

• Origin: Ukrainian (Ukrspecsystems)

• Range: 200–1,000 km (depending on configuration)

• Endurance: 8+ hours

• Payload: EO/IR, laser designators, optionally light munitions

• Wingspan: 5 m (PD-2)

• Launch: Catapult or runway

• Recovery: Parachute or runway

• Notable Feature: Modular payloads; PD-2 can carry small precision munitions.

  
  

II. Loitering Munitions (Kamikaze Drones)

These drones are designed to fly to an area, loiter until a target is identified, and then destroy themselves upon impact.

4. RAM II

• Type: Loitering munition

• Origin: Ukrainian

• Range: ~30 km

• Endurance: ~55 minutes

• Warhead: 3–4 kg HEAT or fragmentation

• Launch: Pneumatic catapult

• Targeting: Real-time video or GPS coordinates

• Use: High-value targets, tanks, artillery systems

  
  

5. UJ-22 Airborne

• Type: Tactical UAV, occasionally used for strikes

• Origin: Ukrainian (UKRJET)

• Range: Up to 800 km

• Endurance: ~7 hours

• Payload: Up to 20 kg (in various configurations)

• Navigation: GPS or pre-programmed waypoints

• Notes: Sometimes adapted for long-range sabotage with explosive payloads.

  
  

6. Punisher

• Type: Fixed-wing loitering munition

• Origin: Ukrainian (UA Dynamics)

• Range: 45 km strike radius

• Endurance: ~30 minutes

• Payload: 2–3 kg guided munition

• Launcher: Catapult

• Paired with: Spectre recon drone for targeting

  
  

7. Bakok

• Type: Fibre-optic loitering munition

• Origin: Ukrainian

• Payload: 1–2 kg warhead

• Unique Feature: Controlled via fibre-optic cable, immune to jamming

• Endurance: ~20–30 minutes

• Range: 5–10 km (limited by cable length)

• Use: Precise targeting in contested EW environments

• Status: Limited production but increasing field usage

  
  

III. Commercially Adapted First-Person View (FPV) Drones

Cheap, widely available, and often produced in garages or small workshops, FPV drones have become central to Ukraine’s tactical operations.

8. DJI FPV / Mavic Adaptations

• Origin: China (civilian drones, adapted for war)

• Range: 5–10 km (depending on signal booster)

• Payload: Modified to carry 0.3–2 kg explosive (typically RPG-7 warheads, anti-personnel grenades, or shaped charges)

• Navigation: FPV via analogue or digital video

• Issues: Vulnerable to Russian EW

• Strength: Mass production; swarms of drones used daily on all fronts

  
  

9. “Avdiivka FPV” and other indigenous FPVs

• Origin: Ukrainian garage workshops

• Specifications:

  • Flight time: 5–10 minutes

  • Speed: 120–150 km/h

  • Warhead: Shaped charge (~0.8–1.5 kg)

  • Control: Manual FPV (analogue)

• Production: Tens of thousands monthly with NGO support

• Use: Anti-armour, trench clearing, suicide attacks on vehicles

  
  

IV. Strategic and Medium-Altitude UAVs

These systems are fewer in number but provide critical long-range reconnaissance and precision strike capabilities.

10. Bayraktar TB2

• Type: MALE (Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance) UAV

• Origin: Turkey (Baykar Makina)

• Range: 150 km (control), 300 km with satellite link

• Endurance: 24 hours

• Payload: Up to 150 kg (including MAM-L guided bombs, EO/IR sensors)

• Notable uses: 2022 strikes on Russian convoys and Black Sea fleet

• Operational Challenges: Less survivable in contested airspace with modern SAMs

  
  

11. Bayraktar Akinci (rumoured deliveries)

• Payload: Up to 1,350 kg

• Ceiling: 12,000+ m

• Capabilities: Air-to-ground and potentially air-to-air missile integration

• Status: Possible Ukrainian acquisition post-2023, not officially confirmed

  
  

V. Fibre-Optic Cable UAVs

These drones are connected via fibre-optic tether to their operators, providing immunity from electronic warfare — a critical advantage on the Russian-dominated electronic battlefield.

12. Sirko-S

• Type: Fibre-optic tethered drone

• Origin: Ukrainian

• Range: Up to 5 km (limited by cable)

• Endurance: Long — as power supplied via cable

• Use: Real-time video feed over urban or trench zones

• Payload: EO cameras only

• Notable Use: Frontline overwatch; urban ISR in contested electromagnetic spectrum

  
  

13. Cyclops-M

• Type: Fibre-optic cable micro-UAV

• Payload: Lightweight EO camera

• Endurance: ~1 hour

• Features: Tethered and grounded power source; used to monitor Russian trench activity without GPS

• Deployment: Discreet tactical surveillance, immune to jamming

  
  

VI. Naval UAVs / Maritime Drones (Bonus Category)

While not aerial UAVs, Ukraine’s war at sea has also seen the emergence of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) with some drone features.

14. Sea Baby and Magura V5

• Range: Up to 800 km

• Payload: 200–300 kg of explosives

• Guidance: Starlink-enabled remote guidance or inertial navigation

• Speed: 70–90 km/h

• Use: Strikes on Russian Black Sea Fleet ships and Crimean bridges

• Note: Shares many command-and-control traits with aerial drones

  
  

Conclusions

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have constructed a multi-layered drone ecosystem – a term here used to refer not to commercial marketing jargon but to the complex interaction of tactical systems – combining state-manufactured UAVs, commercial adaptations, and homegrown FPV units. Unlike Russia, which often relies on centralised procurement and Iranian imports, Ukraine’s drone warfare is decentralised, creative, and constantly evolving. Ukrainian fibre-optic drones, although few in number, demonstrate the ingenuity required to circumvent Russian jamming and maintain situational awareness at close quarters.

The most significant development is the increasing integration of loitering munitions and FPV drones into standard military doctrine, reducing the asymmetry in artillery and air power. As Ukraine’s domestic defence industry scales up, and with ongoing support from foreign partners, her drone fleet is likely to become even more lethal, sophisticated, and autonomous in the coming years.