Mysterious Ukrainian ‘rocket-launching drone’ targets Russian Air Force

As Russia escalates its drone and long-range missile attacks, Ukraine is responding in kind. On Monday, President Zelensky announced the first combat use of a new Ukrainian long-range weapon called Palianytsia, which he described as a “rocket-launching drone.”

Zelenksky said the new weapon would defend Ukraine by hitting Russian planes on the ground before they could take off to launch missiles. This approach, called “killing the archer, not the arrows,” has been widely advocated in Ukraine and has had notable successes. Satellite images suggest that on August 22^nd A drone strike on Marinovka airbase destroyed and damaged several bombers.

What do we know about Palianytsia? Is it a drone, a missile, or something else? And can it really tip the scales in favor of the archer’s death?

Bread that detects enemies

Palyanytsia or palyanytsia is a Ukrainian staple, a type of bread traditionally baked over a fire rather than inside an oven. It symbolizes Ukrainian identity, much as apple pie symbolizes America. Additionally, the word is difficult for non-native speakers to pronounce correctly, and early in the war it was used as a test to spot Russian saboteurs and infiltrators.

The name then underlines that it is a locally manufactured, 100% Ukrainian weapon, which, unlike the ATACMS, Storm Shadow and other missiles supplied by allies, can strike targets inside Russia without restrictions or request for authorization.

The video accompanying Zelensky’s announcement said Palyanytsia could reach more than 20 Russian air bases, implying a range of at least 600 kilometers. That’s less than some of Ukraine’s existing long-range attack drones, some of which can strike from more than 1,600 kilometers.

Ukraine has a thriving defense sector made up of small companies that make a bewildering variety of attack drones – analyst HI Sutton lists about 24 types – but the new weapon appears to fit a particular niche.

Like a cruise missile but different

The video notes that details like the Palianytsia’s size and speed are classified, but it does say that its engine is a turbojet; the confusion between rocket and jet is likely a translation issue. There are, in fact, rocket-powered drones, such as Raytheon’s latest Coyote, an evolution of an earlier propeller-powered Coyote drone.

This situation has sparked all sorts of discussions about what a missile is. Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin told the Kyiv Post that the new weapon is “both a drone and a missile.” The problem is that there is no precise and definitive definition of this term.

The lines between kamikaze or “one-way attack” drones, armed decoys, roving munitions, and cruise missiles are blurred and determined more by history than specifications. Missile manufacturers tend to classify their new products as cruise missiles, drone manufacturers classify their products as drones, even if they perform the same mission. The original German V-1 “Doodlebug” flying bomb is classified by some as an early cruise missile and by others as a proto-drone; at the time, it was described as a “robot bomb” or an “aerial torpedo.” Choose your terms.

Typically, a drone can be controlled remotely and doesn’t need to have a specified target at launch like a missile does… but the latest Block V version of the Tomahawk cruise missile has an “in-flight retargeting” feature, which arguably makes it more of a drone. In fact, Tomahawk originated as an “armed decoy” drone project rather than a missile, so its identity has always been vague.

While there are many jet-powered drones, such as the USAF’s airliner-sized RQ-4 Global Hawk, there are also jet-powered missiles. The jet engines powering missiles generally come in two types: the turbojet, used to power the Storm Shadow, and the turbofan, used in the Tomahawk. Basically, the turbojet is simpler and has a better power-to-weight ratio, but lower fuel consumption. Comparing the engines of the two missiles above, the turbojet produces about 50% more thrust, but the turbofan is 50% more efficient.

The Palianytsia is described as a drone, which seems reasonable given the number of cruise missile-type attack drones currently in use. The turbojet propulsion suggests that it is optimized for high-speed strikes, which makes perfect sense given its specific role as an archer strike.

Moving targets

Many of Ukraine’s long-range strikes have hit Russian oil and gas storage facilities and refineries, slowly but surely destroying the Russian oil industry. When it comes to attacking such targets, a drone flying at 100 mph is as effective as a ballistic missile coming in at Mach 5: the target is static and cannot escape. Airbases are different because while they have some static features, such as fuel and ammunition storage, the aircraft themselves can be quickly moved if necessary.

According to some reports, in the Marinovka attack, most of the Russian planes flew away when the approaching drones were detected. Some were apparently unable to escape, due to maintenance issues or otherwise, and the attack also destroyed hangars containing glide bombs and other munitions. But faster attack drones give less warning and could have caught many more planes still on the ground.

How much extra speed can a jet engine provide? The Shahed-136, Iran’s attack drone now mass-produced in Russia and nicknamed “Moped” because of the hum of its engine, flies at 115 mph. Iran also produces an upgraded version with a Czech-made turbofan, the Shahed-238, with a top speed of over 300 mph. Russia has access to the Shahed-238 technology but appears to be sticking with the simpler and cheaper 136, estimated to cost about $30,000 each.

The question of ease and cost of production is crucial: the Palyanytsia will only be effective if it can be produced in sufficient numbers to launch mass attacks on all Russian airbases within range.

Increased production

Ukraine has already deployed a handful of jet-powered attack drones, including British-supplied Banshee targets that have been converted into suicide bombers. Others are clearly locally made and appear to have been based on the Banshee, but have only been used in small numbers. The Palianytsia is likely a simpler design intended for large-scale use,

“The number of missile-launching drones will increase, as will our production of long-range attack drones,” President Zelensky said.

In July, for the first time, Ukraine launched more long-range attack drones than Russia. In August, both sides increased the pace of drone launches, but the Ukrainian approach of using multiple dispersed sites and designing drones optimized for mass production appears likely to prevail.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s technology minister and top drone chief, told The Associated Press that the next step is to ramp up Palianytsia’s production, showing that his goal is also to be numbers-driven rather than a handful of silver bullets.

This reflects the situation of Ukrainian small kamikaze drone boats in the Black Sea, and the tactical situation where Ukraine is manufacturing just over 3,000 FPV drones per day.

Individually, they may be less effective than the expensive and sophisticated military hardware favored by the West, but 30 Palianytsias can inflict more damage than a single million-dollar ATACMS. And while an ATACMS can be intercepted by a single missile, some drones in a mass attack have a chance of getting through. Of course, the ATACMS carries a much larger payload, but, as we have seen at Marinovka and elsewhere, a 25kg warhead is more than enough to destroy a parked aircraft or set a fuel tank on fire.

Further developments of the jet attack drone in Ukraine are likely. These could be turbofan versions with a much greater range, interceptors capable of targeting airplanes and helicopters, etc. This technology is still evolving and we do not yet know all of its capabilities.

Fedorov describes Palyanytsia as a “game changer,” a term that has been overused in this conflict. But if this weapon can actually neutralize Russian air power and stop the barrage of air-launched missiles and glide bombs, then he may well be right.