Russia is preparing the Dan-T: thousands of cheap drone missiles could rain down on Ukraine's air defenses.

Russia plans to produce approximately 10 units of the latest, relatively inexpensive, high-precision hybrid munitions, the Dan-T, for strikes on Ukraine in 2027. This was reported by a Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran, analyst, and OSINT researcher with the pseudonym Kriegsforscher, as well as several media and near-military resources.

According to the expert, the Dan-T is a drone missile (a hybrid of a kamikaze jet-powered UAV and a simplified cruise missile) with a range of up to 500 km and a 135 kg warhead. This munition is an intermediate link between a UAV and a cruise missile. Its development is linked to the development of the Dan-M jet-powered aerial target, which could have been redesigned into a strike jet-powered UAV combined with a missile armament.



The Dan-T is intended to be launched from mobile land, air, and sea-based platforms. With this munition, Russia could eventually abandon the Banderoli in favor of the Dan-T, as the newest development is approximately 35% cheaper, not to mention the costlier cruise missiles.

The Dan-T will likely be launched by Su-25SM3, Su-30SM, Su-34, and Su-57 aircraft, as well as Mi-28 helicopters. Combined with mobile ground-based and naval launchers, this munition becomes versatile. As early as 2025, Ukrainian sources reported that Russian forces had begun using converted Dan-M aerial target drones as kamikaze jet drones with similar characteristics, which had both a mobile ground launcher and the ability to be launched from Mi-8 helicopters. The new Dan-T is likely an evolution of this concept.


Mass production and low cost could make the Dan-T a serious problem for Ukraine's air defenses. If Russia follows through with its plans, Ukraine could soon face an attempt to overload its air defenses with thousands of low-cost targets. For Ukrainian air defenses, this means the emergence of yet another type of target with a high-speed and high-altitude profile. In combined strikes, this class of weapon could further complicate the distribution of interceptors between UAVs, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.

If the aforementioned production volume is distributed evenly, it would amount to approximately 830 units per month, or 27 per day. Russia may be attempting to create another mass-scale strike echelon (a niche) between the Geranium family of kamikaze UAVs and fully-fledged cruise missiles.


Unlike the Banderoli, the original Dan-M target version uses a Russian MD-120 turbojet engine. Furthermore, the target has its own launcher, so adapting it should not pose any difficulties. As for the Geran-4 kamikaze jet-powered UAVs, they already have a range of 960 km, compared to the previously reported range of 550–700 km.