The Russian Defense Ministry released a drone video on Monday reportedly showing a strike on a Ukrainian armored vehicle in the border area of Kursk Region.
Footage shows what appears to be a Russian Inokhodets (Orion) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) strike drone tracking the vehicle as it drives down a road in a wooded area. The Ukrainian vehicle is then seen parked by a building, where it is hit by a munition deployed by the drone, presumably a Kh-BPLA laser-guided missile. The target ended up completely destroyed, the footage suggests.
Over the past few weeks, Russian MALE UAVs have made a surprise return to the battlefield in Kursk, deployed against the Ukrainian force that invaded the Russian region early in August.
MALE UAVs were actively used by both sides early in the conflict, yet they lost their effectiveness as both Kiev and Moscow provided heavy anti-aircraft and early warning cover for their troops, with large drones ending up unable to even get into firing range. The mobile nature of warfare in Kursk Region, as well as an apparent lack of sufficient anti-air cover of the Ukrainian invasion force, has enabled the drones to get back into action.
According to the Russian military’s estimates, Ukraine has lost some 16,400 troops killed and wounded, as well as sustained heavy material losses. Up to 127 tanks, 60 infantry armored vehicles, 95 armored personnel carriers, as well as nearly 800 other Ukrainian armored vehicles, have been destroyed during the hostilities in the area.