Ukraine’s ‘secret drone’ is choking a key Russian supply highway 60 miles behind enemy lines

• Ukraine has a new medium-range drone called the Morrigan, which strikes areas Russia once considered safe.

• The 412th said it used the drone to attack the R-280 highway, about 50 to 75 miles from the front.

• Ukraine is increasingly using such drones to push back against Russia’s supply lines.

Ukrainian troops have revealed new details of the stealth medium-range drone they used to strike the R-280 logistics highway far behind Russia’s southern fronts.

412th Nemesis BrigadeClose-up and pre-launch images of the Morrigan attack aircraft from the Unmanned Systems Force were released on Saturday.

The brigade’s statement said the fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle, which has a single propeller engine in its nose, was produced locally and was “designed to operate behind enemy lines.”

“With the permission of the manufacturer, we lift the curtain: What kind of stealth drone is this?” He wrote that he called the Morrigan his “secret weapon” at medium range.

A clip of the Morrigan preparing for flight shows it to be roughly 1.2 to 1.5 meters long, with curved wings and two tail fins. The drone appears to be launched from a rail or sling platform, allowing it to take off without a runway.

The Morrigan is an entry into an emerging class of unmanned aerial vehicles that Ukraine has used more frequently this year to attack Russian forces and logistics some 20 to 300 kilometers, or 12 to 186 miles, behind the front lines.

They are usually lighter long range drones who hit Russia defense and oil industries. However, they use a fixed-wing design rather than the first-person view quadcopters that dominate the battlefield.

with target these mid range dronesAnalysts and Ukrainian officials said the move was meant to slow Russia’s advance by forcing it to withdraw from areas it considers safe for supply routes.

That’s what the 412th did with Morrigan; It was attacking a 370-mile route called the R280 “Novorossiya” highway, which Russia used to supply its southern front.

“This aircraft has already served multiple missions in Crimea and destroyed Russian air defense and support targets,” the 412th wrote. “And he’s currently conducting a logistical hunt from Mariupol to Crimea.”

R280 stretches from Rostov-on-Don to Crimea and covers all regions. occupied Ukrainian lands in the south. Typically about 50 to 75 miles from the front lines, it follows the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov, passing through cities such as Mariupol and Melitopol.

Last week, the 412th uploaded clips of multiple drone attacks on supply and fuel convoys moving along a highway, saying it had destroyed “dozens” of Russian trucks and gas stations.

The unit did not release Morrigan’s name at the time, describing her as a “stealth wing” built specifically for assault duty.

Meanwhile, Russian-backed authorities in the occupied territories said on Monday that they were working on alternative routes for the R280 highway, citing Ukraine’s intensified attacks since mid-May. The route is also used by civilian drivers and commercial transportation.

Russian state media outlet TASS noted at least five Ukrainian attacks on R280 in the past week; at least three involved supply or fuel trucks.

On May 21, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed governor of the Kherson region, ordered the temporary closure of part of the highway to non-essential civilian traffic.

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