Ukroboronprom is developing a kamikaze drone with the option to return.
State concern Ukroboronprom is developing a kamikaze drone with the possibility to return to its launch site, said Oleg Boldyrev, project head for Ukroboronprom. According to Boldyrev, the drone has already been developed and is currently being tested. “We named him ‘Patient Zero’. Speaking of an attack drone, we are talking about a kamikaze variant, but it will be able to complete the mission and return to the military base,” he added. The hardware portion of the drone is made of foreign-made parts, but the software is Ukrainian. The drone’s range will be 1,000 km, and the warhead’s weight is 75 kg. For comparison: the effective maximum flight range of the Shahed-136 is, according to various sources, 1,000-1,500 km, with the ability to deliver a warhead weighing 40 kg.