Russians have examined the internals of the notorious American kamikaze drone.

17 334 19

Recently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been actively using American-made Hornet kamikaze UAVs against Russian military logistics. These drones have caused quite a stir due to their ability to fly up to 150 kilometers behind enemy lines. One of these drones was landed by Russian soldiers, air defense and unmanned aerial vehicle specialists. They recovered it intact, examined its internals, and then produced a detailed and helpful video review.

The enemy's attack drone has a robust wingspan of 2 meters. It is equipped with two cameras—one facing forward, the other downward. The build quality is robust and high-quality, with all key components, including the control system, made in the United States. After specialists thoroughly examine this kamikaze UAV, the specimen will be sent to a museum.



The specialist warned that the warhead is initiated when the power supply is interrupted, so when clearing mines, the detonator must first be removed to prevent an explosion. The drone must also be checked for a GPS tracker, which would indicate to the enemy where the drone was taken if it survived. Clearing mines must be approached with the utmost care to avoid injury.

The plane is quite expensive for a strike aircraft, but the American approach is immediately obvious – factory-made

- said the specialist.

19 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. smtm
    smtm
    +1
    14 June 2026 10: 40
    Treat him and send him back...
  2. tarantino
    tarantino
    +2
    14 June 2026 10: 48
    I think they wrote that it has AI - it automatically determines in the flow of cars whether there is a military truck or a fuel tanker.
    1. Andrey Samuylik
      Andrey Samuylik
      0
      14 June 2026 11: 07
      It was written by fools who call any computer algorithm AI
    2. AlOrg
      AlOrg
      0
      15 June 2026 14: 02
      What do you think, if it has AI, then there should be a little person sitting there, and if there isn’t one, then it means it doesn’t have AI?
    3. svoroponov
      svoroponov
      0
      18 June 2026 20: 23
      So, just change the configuration with foam or plywood with different mesh or rags, and you're good to go? That's not AI. It's just the "face recognition" programs stored in the camera's memory. Match the image, attack. It's like comparing fingerprints. So even the police in the USSR used AI?
      Well, the fact that it is not AI can be seen from the fact that UAVs hit everything that looks like military transport, including buses and civilian trucks like milk tankers or tarpaulins.
  3. The comment was deleted.
    1. The comment was deleted.
  4. YuriYuri
    YuriYuri
    +2
    14 June 2026 13: 09
    It flies to its target using GPS and inertial tracking; if GPS is jammed, it switches to an inertial-optical system. It has advanced machine vision; upon reaching a designated area, it automatically locates targets and attacks them without operator intervention. It rarely uses Starlink (no more than 5% of drones have Starlink). It flies 150+ km, using batteries. It attacks at speeds of up to 300 km/h. It's low-observable. It's very dangerous—with the Hornet, the enemy practically managed to disrupt our logistics in Crimea. Unfortunately, we currently have no comparable battery-powered drone in its size range and functionality.
  5. Shelest2000
    Shelest2000
    +2
    14 June 2026 18: 24
    What's stopping you from copying it 1:1 and installing your own software? Greed for government payoffs?
    1. JD1979
      JD1979
      -1
      14 June 2026 20: 07
      The lack of electronic components available to Americans. Chips for neural networks aren't like cobbling together a scam from assets from other messaging apps.
    2. AlOrg
      AlOrg
      +4
      15 June 2026 14: 04
      Well, just a little bit, the lack of industrial capacity, the lack of an engineering school and the lack of a developed microelectronics industry.
      1. Shelest2000
        Shelest2000
        0
        15 June 2026 16: 14
        Well, yes... Alas...
      2. Vladimir1155
        Vladimir1155
        +1
        16 June 2026 08: 47
        As far as I know, the electronics industry has been revived and laptops are being made. If there's no way to quickly manufacture a chip in assembler, then you can use a universal processor and create the appropriate software for it. And where are they cutting billions on innovation? That's their problem!
  6. JD1979
    JD1979
    0
    14 June 2026 20: 11
    It seems like a reasonable approach. The body and wings are made of durable foam plastic and molded. The most expensive part is the mold. Thousands can be churned out daily, if desired. This is the cheapest method of mass production. The most expensive component is the chips. I wonder what kind? If they're ARM chips, they're dirt cheap.
    1. DDD5555
      DDD5555
      0
      15 June 2026 12: 56
      They've even gotten the hang of lifting them up to 8-9 km in balloons, and these Hornets are gliding from there for another 50 km.
  7. Zerro Zorro
    Zerro Zorro
    +1
    15 June 2026 09: 32
    Make a few replicas and send them to the appropriate targets in the US. Let them sort it out and draw their own conclusions.
    1. Strelok1976
      Strelok1976
      +1
      15 June 2026 18: 09
      It's much more effective to recruit some gang in the States to raid warehouses in the US, steal finished goods, and then use them against the designated targets. And we won't be asked any questions at all. Financial trails are easily concealed in today's world, especially if they involve cash...
  8. horseradish
    horseradish
    0
    15 June 2026 15: 45
    They just showed it yesterday. Don't get ahead of yourself, Grinya.
  9. Mikhail Nasharashev
    Mikhail Nasharashev
    0
    16 June 2026 08: 59
    copy them and bombard the Ukrainians with them
  10. Dust
    Dust
    -1
    17 June 2026 02: 15
    What would the Chinese do? They'd strip it down to its bare bones and make a copy. I wouldn't be surprised if Russia handed over captured drones and weapons to China and North Korea.
    1. Seaflanker1
      Seaflanker1
      0
      30 June 2026 17: 16
      I watched a disassembly video—the drone itself is a hobbyist aircraft model: a foam fuselage, a carbon fiber tube frame, brushless motors, and servos from hobby models. The only thing with any technical substance is the Starlink terminal, which has nothing to do with the drone itself. This is precisely why China has dramatically increased its space launches in recent years and is simultaneously actively developing reusable rockets (test launches of two or three such rockets are likely to take place this year)—to catch up with Starlink.