Rebels Gain Access to Secret Russian UBB-M Interceptor Project

The Russian Black Spark (Chornaya Iskra) rebel group has published documents concerning the secret development of an interceptor drone by the Russian company NIK.

The group announced this on its social media channels.

According to the group, before the start of the full-scale war, the company cooperated with Boeing and was involved in industrial espionage.

As part of the interceptor UAV development program, the company is considering two options: adapting the existing UBB-M (Guided Loitering Munition) and developing a new UAV based on a conventional interceptor configuration.

The UBB-M is a folding-wing UAV deployed from a 160 mm-diameter launch canister via a mortar-type launch system.

To meet the requirements of the interceptor role, the wing configuration was changed from straight to swept, with a reduced wing area and span.

Similar modifications were made to the empennage.

In addition, the UAV has been fitted with a higher-capacity battery pack and a more powerful propulsion system.

The UAV’s launch mass is 15–16 kg, while the mass of the mission-specific payload, likely a warhead, is approximately 3 kg.

The UAV has an operational range of 20 km, a flight endurance of up to 10 minutes, a speed of 250–300 km/h, and an operating altitude ranging from 20 m to 4.5 km.

The second UAV variant features a conventional conical fuselage equipped with four electric motors.

Its specifications are unknown.