Fixed-wing drone for the cost of a Daewoo Lanos. Why cheap reconnaissance drones are becoming popular on the front line

The emergence of Russian interceptor drones has shortened the lifespan of reconnaissance UAVs on the battlefield. Whereas a reconnaissance drone worth US$40,000-80,000 could previously fly for hundreds of hours, it may now survive only one or a few sorties.

The military is increasingly forced to choose between using a fixed-wing drone with a high likelihood of losing it, or preserving a valuable aircraft and going without the information it could provide.

In these circumstances, there are two possible paths: to create a drone capable of countering Russian interceptors, or to start producing cheap, mass-produced reconnaissance UAVs that are not too costly to lose.

Manufacturers of expensive drones have taken the first path, testing systems designed to evade enemy interceptor drones. At the same time, some companies have chosen to make the very concept of the "fixed-wing drone" as inexpensive as possible – simply making them cheap and readily available.

Ukrainska Pravda spoke to manufacturers, the state-run defence tech cluster Brave1 and the military. We explain why cheap fixed-wing drones are becoming increasingly widespread on the front.

Cheap and mass-produced

Over the years of the full-scale war, modern reconnaissance UAVs have evolved into high-tech and expensive systems. They are fitted with secure communications, powerful optics with thermal-imaging capability, and electric motors powered by large batteries. Such fixed-wing drones can fly 100-150 kilometres deep and conduct reconnaissance from there, despite the enemy's electronic warfare – and sometimes friendly EW as well.

But this technological sophistication has a downside: a high price. Although around a dozen companies in Ukraine are mass-producing reconnaissance UAVs, the military still does not have enough of them. The spread of the use of drone-based air defence by the enemy is making the situation worse. Elite units of Russia's Rubicon, which specialise in using FPV drones, have reported shooting down over 2,500 reconnaissance drones in a single year.

As a result, the loss of even a single expensive aircraft can leave a unit without reconnaissance for a long time, as new drones have to be waited for in the supply queue. This is why the military has gradually developed a demand for a cheap, mass-produced reconnaissance UAV.

"If we do not get a cheap and mass-produced system in large numbers, we will simply be left blind or run out of money. Expensive Sharks and Lelekas are now being used for reconnaissance right along the contact line. Losing systems like these, which are supposed to operate deep behind enemy lines, is not economically viable," Oleksii Babenko, CEO of Vyriy Industries, told Militarnyi (an independent military news website and media outlet).

In autumn, Vyriy Industries unveiled its own cheap reconnaissance drone, the Sokil (Hawk). Its competitors at TAF Industries have also offered a product in this niche: the Babka UAV. Both drones have been designed as mass-produced, low-cost reconnaissance systems for tactical tasks.

These are not the only reconnaissance UAVs of this class on the market. Other defence companies are also producing inexpensive fixed-wing reconnaissance drones.

The Babka and Sokil have similar specifications: they can be launched by hand or from a catapult, are equipped with a 30x zoom camera and can operate at a distance of up to 50 kilometres for 2-2.5 hours.

The main advantage of these drones is their price. The Babka costs around UAH 130,000 ( US$3,000 ) , while the Sokil costs UAH 172,000 ( US$3,900 ). Systems consisting of several aircraft and other necessary equipment cost just over UAH 1 million ( US$22,600 ).

By comparison, a single Leleka-100, one of the most common reconnaissance UAVs in the Ukrainian army, costs UAH 1.7 million ( US$38,400 ) on the Brave1 Market.

As the developers report, the Babka and Sokil were made cheaper by simplifying their design and component base. Everything that is not critical to the aircraft's basic operation has been removed, leaving only the core components, such as communications systems and cameras with optical zoom and digital stabilisation. Cheaper navigation systems are also integrated, allowing the aircraft to orient itself in space without GPS.

Expensive thermal-imaging cameras or complex stabilisation systems are deliberately not installed on such aircraft, as just one camera of this kind could cost almost as much as the entire drone.

"A simple shape, simple materials and simple assembly. We also use 3D printers for speed and flexibility in production, in case the design needs to be changed. We have chosen to use open-source solutions for communications and cameras so that the system meets the military's needs," Avis, head of the Babka UAV system project at TAF Industries, told Ukrainska Pravda.

At the same time, as the Brave1 defence technology cluster stresses, cheaper does not mean lower-quality. This is not just about saving money on critical components, but about "functional sufficiency" – a set of capabilities that makes it possible to carry out tasks effectively without overpaying for additional features.

Cheap fixed-wing reconnaissance drones can therefore become an asymmetric response to Russia's build-up of small air defence and reduce both economic and military losses on the front. This would allow expensive aircraft to be used not for reconnaissance near the contact line, but for special missions behind enemy lines, or in conditions where cheaper drones cannot cope.

The key advantage emphasised by all of Ukrainska Pravda's sources is the freedom to use such aircraft.

"You don't save it for a special occasion. It is used all the time – for routine and everyday tasks. And if you lose it, you take another one and keep flying," says Eduard Lysenko, CBDO at Vyriy Industries.

This also opens the door to riskier missions. Cheap drones make it possible to conduct reconnaissance in places where sending an expensive aircraft would be too risky because of the likelihood of losing it.

"Getting the picture and understanding the situation is often worth the loss of the aircraft, given the complexity and importance of the task," Avis says.

In practice, the military can conduct reconnaissance not only at a tactical depth of 50 kilometres, but much further – as far as the battery and communications range allow – by sending cheap aircraft on one-way missions.

Crew training takes from a week to a month, as well as with other reconnaissance UAVs. Ukrainska Pravda spoke to a soldier Anhliiets from the Boryviter Unmanned Systems Battalion, who had completed a training course on the Sokil UAV system. He said the developers had paid considerable attention to adapting the technical solutions and making the aircraft easy to use.

"If a crew already has experience working with fixed-wing drones, then 5-7 days is enough to fine-tune operations with a clear division of roles. But if the goal is for crew members to be interchangeable, the training should be longer," Anhliiets says.

A new niche

Brave1 estimates that the need for cheap fixed-wing reconnaissance drones is now extremely high. That is why one of the key tasks is to scale up the production of low-cost UAVs whose loss units can absorb much more easily – and which they can therefore use more intensively and more often.

For now, the Babka and Sokil are only beginning to enter service with the military. According to the information available to Ukrainska Pravda, they are being used in dozens of brigades of Ukraine's Defence Forces, while the state is actively procuring new systems.

TAF Industries believes that cheap drones will gradually replace expensive aircraft operating at distances of 40-60 kilometres. Vyriy Industries, however, is convinced that this is not about replacement, but about dividing their use into different segments.

"Cheap fixed-wing drones are not a replacement for expensive ones; they are a different segment. Different tasks, a different rationale for their use. They provide a different effect: intensity, quantity and a willingness to take risks," Lysenko says.

Brave1 shares a similar view. The cluster believes that cheap aircraft will become a mass-use tool for everyday tasks, while high-tech systems will retain their role in special operations. Expensive reconnaissance UAVs will continue to be used for long-distance flights, the search for important targets and operations in difficult conditions.

The choice between cheap and complex systems will also depend on the situation on the front. In areas where the threat from interceptor drones or air defence is lower, but where higher fixed-wing drone specifications are still needed, the military will continue to actively use expensive aircraft with better optics and communications.

In areas where "small air defence" poses a greater threat, cheap systems will play a more important role. Such systems are already becoming available through the DOT-Chain Defence procurement system and the e-points system [digital procurement initiative launched by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence in 2025 to decentralise and accelerate the delivery of equipment to frontline military units] while TAF Industries' drones are also available through the TAF Bonus programme. [The TAF Bonus Programme is a rewards programme run by the Ukrainian company TAF Industries which allows the military to earn points for confirmed videos of enemy equipment or personnel being struck by Kolibri kamikaze drones. The accumulated bonuses can then be exchanged for equipment.]

Translated by Viktoriia Yurchenko

Edited by Susan McDonald