The Ukrainian military found and for some time used an exploit for Russian Molniya drones that allowed them to detect and destroy the pilots flying them. To do this, Ukrainian interceptor drones were equipped with a special device that received the necessary data upon approach.
The Ukrainian military found and for some time used an exploit for Russian Molniya drones that allowed them to detect and destroy the pilots flying them. To do this, Ukrainian interceptor drones were equipped with a special device that received the necessary data upon approach.
This was reported by Militarnyi with reference to the Telegram channel WU Samurai, which is run by fighters engaged in intercepting Russian drones. The publication emphasizes that they decided to make information about this vulnerability public only when the Russians became aware of it.
«Without going into technical details, we found one interesting vulnerability that allows us to detect the location of the Molniya crew. To do this, you need to bring a small device closer to the enemy aircraft», — the Ukrainian military said.
They modified the interceptor drones to perform the function of radio reconnaissance and at the same time be able to destroy the enemy UAV. After detecting the position of the enemy operators, an FPV drone under the control of another team would fly to them and «blow up the cockpits» in the enemy dugout.
WU Samurai claim that every destruction of the Molniya UAV published on their channel is also the result of defeating or destroying the enemy pilots who were flying the drone at that moment.
Recall that last fall, the Russian occupation army began using small plywood Molniya UAVs with warheads against Kharkiv. Previously, they were used mostly as decoys for Ukrainian air defense, but they also began to pose a mortal danger to Kharkiv residents, who claimed that they did not raise air alarms.
In January 2025, dev.ua described in detail what «Molniya» is and how the Russians use this drone.
