Ukraine unveils fearsome stealth ‘Punisher’ drones to rain death on Russian forces if Putin invades
UKRAINE’S special operations force yesterday showed off the lethal firepower of it “Punisher” stealth drones. Scores of the “undetectable” electric craft lie in wait for Russian invaders after being honed for six years by military engineers. The unmanned planes – with a 7.5-foot wingspan – carry up to three high explosive bombs which can wipe […]
UKRAINE’S special operations force yesterday showed off the lethal firepower of it “Punisher” stealth drones.
Scores of the “undetectable” electric craft lie in wait for Russian invaders after being honed for six years by military engineers.
The unmanned planes – with a 7.5-foot wingspan – carry up to three high explosive bombs which can wipe out troops and vehicles within 50 metres.
They loiter for hours 1,300 feet above the battlefield up to 30 miles behind enemy lines directed by a pilot on the ground manning a laptop computer.
A smaller reconnaissance drone called a Spectre flies alongside to identify targets before the Punisher homes in for the kill.
Bombs are released automatically once locked on to a position and can be set to blast the area with shrapnel or deliver a ball of fire with an incendiary burst.
On board cameras in the nose of the larger craft record to the bomb’s impact to check the accuracy of the mission.
Ukrainian makers UAE Dynamics demonstrated the catapult-launched craft for The Sun’s team on open land outside Kyiv yesterday to show off its incredible stealth.
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The pale grey super lightweight plane looks like an outsized remote controlled toy – but has been reaping havoc behind pro-Russian lines for six years.
Despite a crystal clear blue sky, the 125-mph £150,000 drone appeared to vanish as its whisper-quiet rechargeable motor powered it hundreds of feet above our position.
It remained virtually impossible to see or hear as it commenced a bombing run with a dummy device which thudded into a target area nearby.
UAE Dynamics engineer Eugene Bulatsev, 35, told The Sun: “This weapon’s power is its stealth capability.
“It has been causing havoc behind pro-Russian lines on Donbas for years because the enemy have no idea what has hit them.
“It’s relatively small and light enough to be undetectable to radar and you can’t see or hear it once it’s airborne which makes it a nightmare on the battlefield.
“What’s more, it can drop three bombs at a time or hit three seperate targets then return to base to be reloaded and sent back into battle within minutes.
“We Ukrainians recognised that we needed a weapon like this having faced so much firepower for so long and have developed and improved it ourselves for six years.
“And we now have a unique weapon we can use to resist and fight back should they invade.”
‘WAR TOYS’
Ukraine special ops said the drones have flown hundreds of successful missions since 2016 – and not one has ever been shot down.
Bulatsev said: “The Russians sent a special piece of hardware costing millions to try to counter our threat – so we sent a drone and destroyed it.
“The three-man teams who operate our punishers are also hard to find because the weapon packs into four cases small enough to fit into a 4×4 or estate car.
“There is nothing else like this in the world.”
The drones will be up against an array of Vladmir Putin’s favourite high-tech “war toys” including robot tanks, x-winged “sky mine” drones and a flying amphibious tank.
A defence source said: “If war does break out, a whole range of new technology will go into battle.
“The Russians have the firepower but the Ukrainians will want to fight their guerilla war with weapons combined with stealth.
“They have worked hard to improve their defences since 2014 and will not be a pushover.”
