Ukrainian “Baba Yaga” drones now appear capable of firing guided munitions

Drone developments from Ukraine are accelerating by the day. Nothing drives development, for better or worse, like conflict and both sides struggling to gain some advantage in the unmanned domain. This means rapid iterative development and massive deployment that have major spillover effects far beyond the front lines. The latest example of this is Ukraine which are large industrial quadcopter dronesnicknamed by the Russians “Baba Yaga’s” (a reference to the ferocious old woman who eats children in Slavic folklore), with guided munitions. This would allow these drones to hit even the most hardened armored vehicles while on the move, with great precision, and to do so again and again deep behind enemy lines without having to maintain a fixed position over their target.

Images of a Baba Yaga captured by Russian troops appeared today on TelegramThey show the Baba Yaga adorned with antennae that are largely intact, as well as a very peculiar munition, one with a seeker head that appears to be designed for laser guidance, although other possibilities exist, including an electro-optical type. The weapon is marked BK-30F in Cyrillic, and has what appears to be a relatively large fragmentation warhead section taking up the center of its body.

The exact type of weapon is unclear, but it could be a derivative of the 9K112 Kobra missile or one of its many variants and clones, which Ukraine has developed in a variety of configurations.

The Kobra is a Soviet-designed weapon that originally used semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) guidance. The Kobra was designed to be launched from the barrel of a tank and was guided to its target using an optical sight, similar to the way the American TOW missile does its job. Later iterations of this basic missile design have been used as the basis for tube-launched anti-tank guided missiles. Ukraine’s widespread Stugna missile system seems to be inspired by the design anyway, along with a few others.

The fins on the “BK-30F” ammunition also do not appear to be directly bent to conform to the fuselage of the missile, which is essential for launching via a tube or the main gun of a tank. This may just be the image. It is also possible that these weapons are produced without the spring-loaded fins to save time and money, or that they are adapted from a variant without the tube insert. The smaller rear control fins are not visible in this image, although they may have broken off.

In any case, even though the ammunition recovered with the Baba Yaga was not directly derived from the weapons mentioned above, Ukraine is quite capable of producing guided munitions like the one shown in the image.

Pairing weapons like these with Baba Yaga drones is a good idea. These unmanned craft aren’t cheap or disposable weapons like their first-person view (FPV) counterparts. They’re industrial systems, often used for agricultural and commercial applications. They cost tens of thousands of dollars apiece and can carry significant payloads dozens of kilometers. So while increasing their lethality is always important, increasing their survivability is just as important.

Even if they are not equipped with rocket engines and are used only in free-fall mode, the guided munitions would allow the Baba Yagas to engage targets from much higher altitudes and without having to hover directly over the target they are attacking. The drones would then be able to keep moving during the engagement, which would be a great help in increasing survivability. The weapon seen in today’s photos, if it is indeed directly related to established anti-tank types, would be very capable in both an anti-armor and anti-personnel role, with much more explosive power than small drone-dropped bombs and the warheads used on many FPV drones. We are talking about a true anti-tank or heavy anti-personnel capability here.

If the missile retains its rocket motor in this configuration, and it can be reliably ignited and guided after being dropped, this could dramatically increase the range at which the Baba Yaga can engage targets. The Kobra missile could hit targets up to two and a half miles away when fired from a tank. The Stugna-P has an even greater range. This would be significantly extended when fired from altitude, but even a range of a few miles would greatly increase the tactical flexibility of a weaponized Baba Yaga.

Laser designation would come via an electro-optical/infrared sensor turret with a laser system. These are increasingly miniaturized and affordable for use on smaller dronesand they are well within the lifting capacity of the Baba Yaga. Even a man-in-the-loop electro-optical seeker and control capability is possible with the right communications link.

In terms of operational applications, the Baba Yaga is capable of entering Russian rear areas, miles from the front lines, to hunt for targets. This opens up a huge vulnerability to enemy forces. Russia is also given this capability. The use of Airborne repeaters/relays to extend connectivity range of large and small drones is also something that the Baba Yaga is not alone in responsible for providingbut can also benefit greatly from it.

By using a repeater, this large quadcopter can penetrate deeper into Russian territory, and attack targets where the enemy is not as well prepared to defend against such attacks. Adding laser-guided munitions to its armament portfolio means it can take out targets with precision from thousands of meters in the air. At those heights, connectivity with its operators would also be significantly enhanced.

So, overall, we are talking about a real synergistic capability that goes beyond just these drones getting more accurate ammunition. Only Ukraine’s much more complex and expensive Cemetery TB2 Fixed-wing drones have the ability to use guided munitions like this. They were used heavily early in the war, but suffered heavy losses when Russia’s massive anti-air overlay was set up over large parts of Ukraine.

Using the Baby Yagas’ range and payload to deliver precision-guided munitions is certainly a new aspect of drone warfare in Ukraine, but it is also a logical evolution. While these drones are not cheap, this brings the ability to conduct these types of strikes behind enemy lines within the reasonable cost range. This is something that the much more capable, and easier to detect and attack, TB2s simply could not achieve. As a result, we are likely to see a rapid expansion of this capability in the near future.

Contact the author: Tyler@twz.com