Russia Trials New Short-Range Reconnaissance Drone On Ukraine's War Field

Illustration of Russian drones. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - Russia's latest lightweight short-range reconnaissance drone, the Privet-mini, based on the flying wing design, is undergoing trials on the battlefield of Ukraine's special military operations zone, the Oko Design Bureau said.

"The short-range light reconnaissance drone launched with a new hand, the Privet-mini, has been sent to a special area of operation to be tested on combat terrain," the bureau told TASS, as quoted November 28.

"These aerial vehicles have been supplied to several units, including those with successful experience in using our Private 82 drone," the bureau added.

In addition to the low cost, this new reconnaissance drone is easy to operate, he said.

"The concept is simple and cheap and is available for use at the company level without requiring long training for operators," he explained.

"In line with that, this aerial vehicle is equipped with a low-cost camera because the drone, given its size, can operate from a fairly low altitude of about 300-400 meters, so it is not seen acoustically and physically. In addition, this drone has shown its high resistance to the enemy's electronic warfare system," the design bureau said.

He added that the Privet-mini drone is designed to spy on targets at short distances, he said.

"The goal is to 'fly and see,' adjust artillery fire or provide recorded situational data, rather than float in the air to find valuable targets," he explained.

"The drone's day and night models have been engineered. They are distinguished based on their body colors, day and night cameras, as well as thermal imaging," the design bureau said.

It is known, the Oko Design Bureau previously created a privet-82 type kamikaze drone designed for counter-battery warfare and fort attack.

The design bureau is currently working to create a reconnaissance version of the drone.