Record Distance: Ukrainian RAM-2X Destroys Russian Pantsir-S1 Near Luhansk

A Ukrainian RAM-2X loitering munition flew more than 100 km from the front line and struck a Russian Pantsir-S1 air-defence battery at Luhansk airport.

Dosye Shpiona, an Ukrainian Telegram channel, reported the destruction of the system.

Researchers from the geoint project Dnipro OSINT geolocated the firing position of the destroyed vehicle and said fresh satellite imagery shows burn marks and the Pantsir’s disappearance.

The strike area is about 100 km from the contact line, which the RAM-2X reportedly crossed. Dnipro OSINT said a drone repeater conducted extended reconnaissance to enable operations at that depth.

The channel also reported a second Pantsir-S1 destroyed near the village of Snizhne in Donetsk region, but there is no independent visual confirmation of that claim.

RAM-2X

Militarnyi was the first media that reported on the RAM-2X’s first appearance after a closed demonstration in April 2024. The drone, with an X-shaped airframe, is described as an operational-tactical loitering munition capable of striking targets beyond 100 km.

A key innovation is an integrated machine-vision system that can acquire and automatically target objects during the terminal phase, useful when communications are lost because of the radio horizon or electronic warfare.

The RAM-2X uses an electric motor and is catapult-launched. Warhead options include fragmentation, thermobaric and armour-piercing variants weighing up to 3 kg; the armour-piercing version is said to penetrate up to 40 mm of armor.

A companion drone-repeater is a core part of the system, performing target detection, tracking and post-strike battle damage assessment.

The repeater helps maintain video and command links beyond the radio horizon, allowing operators to guide loitering munitions at long ranges.