Ukraine has introduced a significant upgrade to its Liutyi (Fierce) kamikaze drones, improving their stealth, deployment method, and overall combat performance. According to visual analysis and defense sources, the upgraded model no longer features landing gear, signaling a shift to launcher-based deployments—likely via ground or vehicle-mounted rail systems, allowing faster, more flexible field operations.
The drone’s design now shows a smoother aerodynamic profile, with visible efforts to reduce radar cross-section, indicating an emphasis on low observability to penetrate deeper into contested airspace. These upgrades suggest an adaptation to avoid Russian air defense systems that have become more sophisticated against previous wave attacks.
This evolution aligns with Ukraine’s increasing reliance on kamikaze UAVs to conduct long-range strikes on Russian command centers, radar stations, and logistics hubs across occupied territories and even inside Russia. Combined with improvements seen in other platforms like the Ronnie-13 and Volynyaka, Ukraine continues to scale its drone warfare with greater strategic depth and survivability.
As the war progresses, the Liutyi drone’s transformation highlights Kyiv’s growing focus on cost-effective, scalable, and harder-to-intercept solutions, using local innovation to offset Russia’s numerical air superiority.
