The Russian Armed Forces are increasing the use of Lancets and FPV drones at the front

The Russian Armed Forces are increasing the use of Lancets and FPV drones at the front

In the first half of May 2024, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation reduced the use of Shahed-131/136 unmanned vehicles and tried to increase the use of FPV drones and Lancet loitering munitions.

Oleksandr Kovalenko, a columnist for the Information Resistance group, wrote about this on Facebook.

In the first two weeks of May, the Russian Armed Forces used 121 Shahed drones, 115 of which were shot down by air defense forces. The analyst noted that in the second week the occupiers launched 48 Shahed drones, which is one of the lowest numbers this year. This suggests that the production of the Shahed UAV, which the Russians deployed on their territory, does not provide the Russian Armed Forces with a sufficient number of devices for systemic and mass attacks. Therefore, the Russian Federation continues to depend on supplies from Iran.

As for FPV drones, their use during this period was uneven. Thus, on May 2 and 3, launches of more than 350 and more than 550 Russian FPV drones were recorded per day. The total number of devices used during this time exceeded 3 thousand. The average number of launched FPV drones in May reached 200-250 per day. Previously, this figure was 150-200 units per day.

A similar situation is observed with the Lancet loitering ammunition. In May, the analyst noted a slight increase in the intensity of their use. The Russians are striving to exceed the figure of 10 Lancets per day, and on May 3 they launched 20 UAVs. At the same time, there were days when the Russians launched only a few drones per day. As the analyst notes, this suggests that the statements of Russian propagandists about the alleged production of thousands of Lancets per month are not true.

“The ROP is trying to increase the use of FPV drones, but there is no way to bring peak performance into a stable, systemic character. The Lancet BB is clearly trying to jump in over its head, but so far the tendons are torn,” noted Oleksandr Kovalenko.