Drone warfare in Ukraine: underwater drones, Ukraine’s Lancet analog, and Trembita cruise missiles
Three key stories of the week: Feb. 19 - Feb. 25, 2025
This week, we will explore key innovations unveiled by Ukraine at the Defense Tech Innovations Forum in Kyiv and the Support Ukraine summit. In January 2025, Ukraine’s drone production surged tenfold compared to January 2024. The country’s impressive and highly effective naval drone fleet will soon be reinforced by the small underwater drone Toloka. Meanwhile, the long-awaited development and production of Ukraine’s Lancet-equivalent drone have been completed, with deliveries made to several units that have already struck multiple Russian targets. As testing continues for Ukraine’s long-range drone/cruise missile Trembita, we wait to see its performance on the battlefield.
Many additional developments are included, such as Russia’s Frankenstein drones and insights from the deployment of V-Bat drones (Shield AI) in special missions by Ukraine’s Forces!
Ukraine is daring Russia to open fire on swarms of new Trembita drones. Many of the drones will be decoys (David Axe for Forbes + additional sources)
At the Defense Tech Innovations Forum 2025 in Kyiv, the Trembita cruise missile/drone was unveiled. It was developed by the volunteer design bureau PARS in collaboration with members of the NGO "Vidsich."
The missile comes in two variants: a strike version equipped with either a thermobaric or fragmentation-explosive warhead, and a decoy version. Its key advantage is its low cost. The decoy variant is priced at approximately $4,000, while the strike version, due to the addition of navigation systems and a warhead, costs around $14,000.
Militarnyi reported citing Akim Klemenov, the company’s CEO: “This is a cheap tool. We use simple technologies, such as aluminum cutting and bending, actually repeating the design of World War II aircraft. This allows us to significantly reduce the cost of the product. The missile is built around a pulsating jet engine, which consists of stainless steel and no moving parts. It is cheap and simple. Yes, it has some disadvantages, but its advantages are worth it”.
Specifications of the "Trembita" Missile:
Type: Missile designed to destroy enemy air defense systems
Range: Up to 150 km
Maximum flight altitude: 2,000 m
Minimum flight altitude: 30 m
Warhead payload: 20 kg
The Trembita missile weighs approximately 100 kg and carries a warhead weighing between 20 to 30 kg, depending on its range. Its speed exceeds 400 km/h.
To launch the Trembita, the developers have created a special semi-trailer that can simultaneously carry up to seven missiles, regardless of their modification.