Ukraine Develops New ‘Bars’ Drone Missile With 800 km Range

Ukraine has developed a new drone missile called Bars, capable of striking targets up to 800 kilometers away inside Russian territory, the BBC reported, citing an anonymous Ukrainian government source.

Herman Smetanin, Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries, publicly named the missile during the Ukrainian Weapons 2024 briefing, alongside other drone-guided missiles such as Peklo (Hell), Palyanytsia, and Ruta.

No details about the Bars system were disclosed at the time.

“We could track this for a year. We have such cruise missiles and a class of fundamentally different drone missiles — Palyanytsia, Peklo, Ruta, Bars,” Smetanin shared during the event.

According to the BBC’s source, Bars is a private sector development and shares similar specifications with the Peklo drone missile.

The missile is described as a medium-range system (Middle Strike) with an estimated 700–800 kilometers range.

One key feature is its compatibility with mass production in Ukraine.

The report added that Bars is expected to enter service with Ukraine’s Defense Forces soon to support deep strikes on Russian military infrastructure.

Militarnyi recently reported that Ukraine’s domestic missile production increased eightfold by the end of 2024. The ramp-up enabled regular deployment of ballistic missiles and extended-range versions of the Neptune system.

In November 2024, Ukraine’s defense industry reportedly produced more than 100 missile systems.

Ukrainian missiles

The same month, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine plans to produce 3,000 cruise and drone missiles in 2025 to provide the Defense Forces with strike capabilities.

Prior to that, Defense Minister Rustem Umierov confirmed that serial production of the R-360 Neptune missile—now capable of striking targets up to 1,000 kilometers away—had been successfully scaled up.

“The serial production of R-360 Neptune cruise missiles with improvements to hit targets at longer distances has been successfully scaled up,” the Minister shared.

In March 2025, the President of Ukraine announced that the defense industry had increased the range of the Neptune cruise missile, which is now capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers.

In August 2024, Ukraine also reported a successful test of a new ballistic missile system.