During the large-scale combined shelling of Kyiv on the night of June 15, Russia used a new type of weapon — a loitering munition, or drone-missile hybrid, called the Banderol. This munition is capable of flying 500 km and carrying over 100 kg of explosives.
During the large-scale combined shelling of Kyiv on the night of June 15, Russia used a new type of weapon — a loitering munition, or drone-missile hybrid, called the Banderol. This munition is capable of flying 500 km and carrying over 100 kg of explosives.
The RBC-Ukraine publication reports on the attack by "banderole" on Kyiv. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the weapons were developed by the sanctioned Russian enterprise "Kronstadt".
The main feature of the S8000 is its ability to maneuver with a smaller turning radius than typical cruise missiles (X-101 or Caliber), while maintaining a characteristic flight trajectory. The length of the product is about 5 meters, the wingspan is 2.2 meters. The Banderol can accelerate to 650 km/h, and its high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighs over 114 kg.
As with other Russian weapons, the intelligence officers found dozens of foreign components in the Banderola. The key element is a Chinese-made Swiwin SW800Pro jet engine, intended for aeromodelling, which can be freely purchased on AliExpress for about $16,000. The missile also contained Japanese Murata batteries, South Korean Dynamixel MX-64AR servos from Robotis, and numerous microchips from various countries, including the United States and Switzerland. The Russian Comet antenna is used to bypass electronic warfare systems.
Despite the emergence of the new weapon, experts doubt that it will be able to completely replace the cheap and mass-produced "Shaheeds". Aviation expert Konstantin Kryvolap notes that the main advantage of the "Banderola" is its higher speed, which theoretically helps it break through Ukrainian air defenses. At the same time, its use is logistically difficult.
"This type of weapon has quite limited applications. It can be launched either from a helicopter or from drones such as the Orlan. To do this, a helicopter or UAV must be lifted into the air, so it is not a very convenient thing," explains Kryvolap. In addition, the estimated cost of such a missile is three times the price of a conventional kamikaze drone, and its large size makes the Banderol a convenient target for Ukrainian aviation and anti-aircraft systems.
Recall that during a massive attack on the capital on June 15, Russia used hundreds of drones and missiles of various types, in particular destroying the largest innovative terminal of Novaya Poshta . Air defense forces destroyed or suppressed 632 air targets that night.
