RT reported on December 23 that the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had successfully intercepted an armored fighting vehicle, believed to be a Stryker model provided by the US, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
On the same day, the Russian military released a video of the fighting, saying the incident took place in the Kharkov region of Ukraine, but did not disclose the exact location.
According to the Russian military reconnaissance team, the suicide UAV (kamikaze) was deployed immediately after detecting a strange vehicle moving in the area.
RT said that the UAV used by Russia during the December 23 mission could be a quadcopter (a drone with four blades). Despite its limited range and flight time, the quadcopter is highly flexible and suitable for suicide missions.
Russia has developed and used many types of UAVs in military operations, including reconnaissance UAVs and attack UAVs. UAVs such as the Orlan-10 and Forpost-R are mainly used for intelligence gathering, battlefield monitoring and providing continuous information to ground forces. They can fly continuously for more than 15 hours with a range of 100 km to 400 km.
In addition, Russia also uses attack UAVs such as the Lancet-3 or KUB-BLA. These UAVs are designed to carry out kamikaze attacks, destroying targets such as armored vehicles and military facilities. Suicided UAVs typically have a range of 30 km to 100 km and have been deployed in operations in Ukraine.
The video recorded by the UAV itself shows that the target of the attack was the roof of the vehicle, a part with relatively poor resistance. The Russian Defense Ministry said the impact was strong enough to destroy the Stryker armored fighting vehicle.
According to many reports from Russia, the US has sent about 400 Stryker armored fighting vehicles (8 wheels, weighing 18 tons, capable of carrying 11 people) to Ukraine.
Strykers are often used by the Ukrainian army in the campaign to push the Russian army back from Kursk province from August 2024. Ukrainian officials said the campaign's goal was to dispers Russian forces and occupy several areas to support future peace talks.
