Dangerously Smart: Russia’s Independent Attack Drone Developers

A popular meme features a Ukrainian soldier talking about the Russian invaders: “We’re very lucky they’re so ******* stupid.” It regularly appears with each new Russian setback. But while they are burdened with a system which is not only riddled with corruption but also bureaucratic and inefficient, there are smart Russians too.

State industries move slowly, sucking up the maximum profit, but smaller Russian outfits with a more disruptive attitude can progress dangerously fast. This is especially true in the field of drones where even a small company can rapidly assemble an innovative product.

A case in point: The Oko Design Bureau and their Privet-82 attack drones. These can hit targets at ranges in excess of 30 miles, far beyond the reach of FPVs, and with a heavier warhead than an FPV. And they cost a fraction as much as other weapons.

Competition For The Lancet

The Lancet, made by Kalashnikov offshoot ZALA, is Russia’s standard long-range loitering munition. It has proven a significant threat to Ukrainian artillery, air defense and other targets well behind the lines. In fact, it has been one of Russia’s most successful weapons. If the military have a complaint about the Lancet it is that supplies are limited, partly due to the high cost: about 3 million rubles or $30,000. ZALA enjoys a comfortable relationship with the Ministry of Defense and has little fear of competitors.

But such companies do not deliver quality products at speed or low cost. There is a reason why Russia, with a large aerospace defense sector, still had to import Shahed drones from Iran.

Many Russian drone makers thought they could do better and deliver simple, robust fixed-wing attack drones. Back in 2023 we looked at the Privet-82 attack drone which Oko had just announced.

Oko’s website escribes them as “a young design bureau from St. Petersburg, working on the principles of an IT startup.” They are “enthusiastic professionals in the fields of microelectronics, IT, design and aircraft construction,” specializing in low-cost military unmanned aerial vehicles. In 2023 they had 10 full-time staff.

There are many teams like this in Russia, often involved in the supply of FPV drones to the front. These bypass the military procurement system altogether and are funded by donations and the soldiers themselves. Although Russia has struggled to embrace startup culture, the big contractors have a stranglehold on the supply process; corruption is endemic, and the military know who to buy from. New companies with dangerous ideas about affordable, efficient systems are generally shut out. Newcomers like Oko tend to be confined to a parallel universe known as ‘the People’s VPK’ where they operate on shoestring budgets, and this seemed to be the way the company was progressing.

However, in January 2024, Oko announced via their Telegram channel that they would not take new orders due to “large and dramatic scaling of production” which would “completely load our staff for a couple of months”. In August last year they announced the start of mass production of their Privet-82XL drone with a payload of more than 20 pounds (three times as much as a Lancet). The company also succeeded in winning official MoD certification.

Construction is simple, using plywood rather than more high-tech materials, but the drones seem to have performed well in combat tests through 2024. According to Russian news source Sputnik, the basic Privet-82 cost about 100k rubles or $1,000.

Planned developments include a reusable bomber version, and machine-vision navigation and guidance systems as already seen on some advanced FPVs.

Concept Of Drone Operations

Privet works differently to other attack drones. Rather than being transported to the front lines, a supply of drones is kept further back. When an operator at the front needs one a drone is launched from a catapult and flies automatically to the specified area. The operator then connects to the Privet-82 – basically logging into the drone with a PIN – and takes over, directing it on to the target like any other FPV. The drone flies in ‘dark mode’ from launch until pickup, meaning there are no radio emissions, and the launch point cannot be traced.

According to Ukrainian analyst Serhii Flash, these drones are making strikes at depths of up to 30 miles behind the lines. They are not particularly effective against moving targets; this is probably because the fixed-wings are not nearly as agile as FPVs and can lose a target at the last second.

Recent upgrades include simplifying the screen display, and a simple on/off switch for arming the warhead. The Privet-82 has an advanced radio system claimed to be highly resistant to jamming. It also has a stealth attack mode: the operator can cut the engine and glide for the last few hundred meters, giving the target no warning.

For an extra 60k rubles ($600) an night version is available with low-light camera and thermal imaging

The main change from the original design is that the Privet-82 now breaks down for transport. This evidently brought some technical challenges. The makers ended up with an untidy but effective solution: “The result is traditional for our design bureau: It looks completely different from beautiful drones. [But] It works.”

It is striking that in 18 months the team made major modifications to their drones, produced several versions, and ended up with a product which delivers what their users want, based on combat experience. We do not know the price, but likely it has not strayed too far from the original.

Clunky Weapons

This is not the only such development. Recently Ukrainian have reported increasing numbers of Molniya (“Lightning”) attack drones. This is another simple, fixed-wing design made of plywood. Again, a larger version was fielded in response to requirements: from an original with a 7-pound warhead, the latest Molniya-2 delivers a 20-pound TM-62 mine. Ukraine is even said to be copying the design.

The Privet-82 looks like a clunky weapon, a far cry from the slick-tube-launched SwitchBlade 600s now being acquired by U.S. forces, and primitive even compared to the Lancet. It does not look like the product of a defense aerospace company.

“It’s very unlikely they can compete with state corporations and especially with Zala,” Samuel Bendett, an expert Russian drones and adviser to the CNA and CNAS thinktanks, told me. “It is used with Molniya on a limited scale by Espanola group — combat group that specializes in testing and using air and ground robotic system.”

That is good news for Ukraine. If the ‘mass production’ facility is only producing tens of drones a month, then the impact will be limited. But the simplicity of design and the use of readily available materials means that scaling up production might not be that difficult.

And Bendett notes Oko’s achievement should not be understated.

“Privet-82 shows other Russian small-scale manufacturers that their technology can make it way to the front, and can get official MOD certification for subsequent scaling up,” says Bendett.

Privet-82 looks crude, but a 20-pound warhead delivered on target speaks for itself. And it costs perhaps $2,000 per drone, against $35k for a Lancet – or perhaps $200k for a SwitchBlade.

As Stalin noted, quantity has a quality all its own.