Leleka-100 reconnaissance drones now equipped to evade Russian interceptor drones
The Leleka-100, a reconnaissance drone developed by Ukrainian company DeViRo, is being upgraded with technology to help it evade Russian interceptor UAVs.
Source: Militarnyi, a Ukrainian military news outlet
Details: The drone's new manoeuvring system, Stich, comes with an added camera and other components. It can identify Russian air-defence interceptor drones and automatically carry out evasive manoeuvres, said Illia Kovalchuk, head of development and software at DeViRo.
"We also have a mass-produced device that we install on our aircraft which also showed strong results at the beta testing stage. It's a manoeuvring system designed to save the aircraft from an interceptor," Kovalchuk said.
Kovalchuk added that the new system has improved the "survivability coefficient" of Leleka-100 drones on the front lines, although it is "not a panacea" against interceptors. The developers are continuing to work on improving the system.
The Leleka-100 reconnaissance drone has been officially in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2019. It is equipped with two communication channels that can withstand electronic warfare equipment and function in adverse weather conditions. The UAV features a daytime camera with 100x zoom and a state-of-the-art thermal imaging camera for night operations.
The drone has a declared operating radius of 80 km and a total possible route length of up to 340 km. The Leleka can remain airborne for up to 5 hours at an operational altitude of up to 3,500 m.
Background: In July 2025, Ukrainska Pravda reported that the Russian military had begun downing more Ukrainian reconnaissance drones, particularly Lelekas.
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