Russia has completed the development of a new and cheaper analog of the Lancet loitering munition.

TASS reported on this.

According to the manufacturer, the development of the new Scalpel loitering munition has now been completed, and the product’s mass production will begin in 2024.

In addition, the plan is to produce about 1,000 drones by the end of the year, which will be part of the units, along with reconnaissance UAVs.

Vostok Design Bureau is responsible for developing a new and cheaper loitering munition.

Representatives of the design bureau noted that the drone has been used in Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine since 2023 as part of army tests.

In 2023, the Scalpel drone incorporated many innovations that, according to the developers, should have a positive impact on its flight performance.

Additionally, the catapult was updated, making it more compact and lighter, and the deployment speed was reduced by three times.

As the drone is analogous to the Lancet, the new loitering munition has a 5 kg payload, a takeoff weight of 10.5 kg, a cruising speed of 120 km/h, and a range of 40 km.

Militarnyi previously reported that two Ukrainian analogs of the Russian Lancet kamikaze drone have already passed preliminary tests and will soon be tested in combat conditions.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Digital Transformation, also noted that the drones have a target tracking function that allows them to be guided in the last part of the flight in the absence of direct communication with the operator.

According to Fedorov, four Ukrainian drones were recently tested, and two tests were successful.