Ukrainian company Deviro is conducting combat tests of a new attack drone «Palytsia». The new development is positioned as a budget addition to the «Bulava» loitering munition, designed to destroy vehicles and poorly protected targets in the enemy’s near rear.
Ukrainian company Deviro is conducting combat tests of a new attack drone «Palytsia». The new development is positioned as a budget addition to the «Bulava» loitering munition, designed to destroy vehicles and poorly protected targets in the enemy’s near rear.
This was stated by Ruslan, the head of the marketing department of Deviro, in a comment to Military. According to him, the drone is currently in the beta testing stage directly during combat missions and has already had its first confirmed hits on enemy equipment.
«Palytsia» was created to work in a single Deviro ecosystem, which uses a common ground control station and reconnaissance UAVs «Leleka». The drone is capable of covering a distance of up to 90 km and staying in the air for up to 50 minutes. Its warhead weighs up to 3 kg (current combat tests are being conducted with a warhead weighing 2.7 kg). The same pneumatic catapult is used for launch as for the «Bulava».
A significant reduction in the cost of the complex was achieved through optimization of the design and components. The drone is equipped with a simplified optical suspension, a different fuse, and a battery half as small. At the same time, the device retains the ability to operate via the company’s proprietary communication.
The need to create a simplified strike weapon arose due to the expansion of the combat capabilities of the main Bulava and the changing situation on the front line. As explained by a Deviro representative, over the past year the Bulava’s flight range has increased: if previously 70–80 km was considered an excellent result, now the drone is guaranteed to cover 100 km, and individual targets, such as the Buk air defense system, were hit even at a distance of 130 km.
The company noted that the enemy had pulled heavy armored vehicles further away through the kill zone, so mostly light vehicles remained in the near rear. A warhead weighing 2.7–3 kg was sufficient to destroy it, which led to a request to create a more budget-friendly weapon for shorter distances.
