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Autor fotografie: Team SM|Popisek: Ukrainian drone FURY PRO at Eurosatory 2024
Larger agricultural drones, referred to by the Russian side as Baba Yaga, became synonymous with the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. The FURY PRO UAV presented at Eurosatory 2024 represents a revolution in iconic drones.
The war in Ukraine, as well as other war conflicts of the last few years, such as in Nagorno-Karabakh, but also in the Middle East, have one important common denominator, which is the increased use of UAVs. In Nagorno-Karabakh, drones basically decided Azerbaijan's victory over Armenia. Hezbollah, Iran and Yemen's Houthis have been sending drones for months at US, Israeli and allied targets in the Middle East in an intensified mode in connection with the war in Gaza triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel.
UAV Baba Yaga under the new name FURY PRO
Above all, however, it is the war in Ukraine, which is synonymous with the involvement of various types of drones on the battlefield. In addition to mass night attacks carried out using Geran-2 suicide drones, based on Iranian Shahid-136 UAVs, the Russians primarily send Lancet reconnaissance UAVs to the front, but also other types of FPV drones. From the beginning of 2023, the first combats of enemy UAVs also begin to appear. According to the videos published on social networks, it is very often Ukrainian drones derisively referred to as "Baba Yaga" and precisely Russian Lancets.
The nickname "Baba Yaga" does not refer to a specific type of FPV or suicide UAV, but on the contrary to various types of drones, mostly assembled directly in Ukraine, which are used for one common purpose: the elimination of Russian military equipment on the war front. These drones started to appear already in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine and were mostly civilian UAVs that were based on larger drones used for various purposes in agriculture. Later, however, the designation was also used for other types of drones that carried out suicide attacks or dropped grenades on heavy Russian equipment.
Upgraded Baba Yaga FURY PRO on Eurosatory
At the largest military technology fair in Europe called Eurosatory 2024, which took place in Paris in June, the FURY PRO drone was presented, among a huge number of other heavier and lighter new Ukrainian equipment. Our editorial office was on site and obtained the specifications regarding the drone directly from its seller, the Ukrainian company Spets Techno Export. It is the second largest Ukrainian state-owned enterprise focused on foreign trade, which ensures the export and import of military technology. At the fair, we also had the opportunity to meet the author of the drone, who explained all the necessary specifications.
The Ukrainian UAV FURY PRO is intended for missions involving the destruction of enemy heavy military equipment, bunkers and other strategic well-fortified targets. The drone is normally sent to the front, where it waits for a suitable target, on which it then drops a charge from a height. It can be an explosive weighing up to 15 kg, which can be met by 120mm or 82mm mines. However, the drone can also carry one TM-62 anti-tank mine weighing approximately 7.5 kg. The drone can drop this charge at night on a road along which the more frequent movement of heavy military equipment is observed.
A mine planted in this way can subsequently cause serious damage or destruction to a military machine. However, the drone can also carry out various types of reconnaissance missions lasting up to 55 minutes thanks to the attached day and thermal camera. The video is transmitted on a frequency of 5.8 or 3.3 GHz, which is also common for European civilian drones. The drone can fly in FPV mode based on the pilot's commands. However, thanks to the connection to GPS and the ability to navigate, the UAV should also be able to perform at least partially autonomous missions.
According to information from the MILITARNYI web portal, the drone was built and is now being manufactured by the Ukrainian company The Drone Squad. Currently, it should be deployed on almost all parts of the war front with Russia, which gives its developers the opportunity to test the machine in a real combat environment and possibly correct its possible shortcomings. In connection with this information, the question arises as to whether the above-mentioned videos referring to air battles between Russian drones and Ukrainian Baba Yaga UAVs are actually FURY PRO drones.
