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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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New footage appears to show a Ukrainian jet-powered kamikaze drone undergoing tests in the war-torn country as Moscow and Kyiv compete to get ahead in the drone wars.
A brief clip, publicized by Ukrainian media outlets, purports to show a "new" Ukrainian jet-propelled kamikaze drone "currently undergoing successful tests."
Newsweek could not independently verify the footage and has reached out to Ukrainian officials for comment.
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"This drone has a similar 'canard' configuration and uses a trolley launching system like the 'Beaver' drones that were hitting Moscow last year, but this is a significant evolution," U.K.-based drone expert, Steve Wright, told Newsweek.
Long-range kamikaze drones, dubbed "Beaver" uncrewed vehicles, targeted the Russian capital in a spate of attacks in 2023. The "Beaver" was thought to be a canard-type aircraft, powered by a petrol engine.
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This engine limited the drones' top speed to around 130 miles per hour, Wright said. By swapping in an inexpensive jet engine, the drones could reach above 200 miles per hour, and "the slightly more swept wing also hints at the aircraft being designed for those sorts of speeds," he argued.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian media reported that the first Shahed-238 kamikaze drone, a jet-powered upgrade of the widely-used Shahed-131 and Shahed-136s, had been shot down in Ukraine, citing an influential military blogger from the country. There has been no confirmation of this from the Ukrainian Air Force, but Russia had hinted in late 2023 that it would soon use a jet-powered version of the Shahed drones.
Although its presence in Ukraine has not been verified, it is "certainly possible," military and weapons expert David Hambling told Newsweek on January 9.
Drone warfare has dominated the nearly two years of all-out war in Ukraine.
"The front-line situation depends on drones," Mykhailo Fedorov, Kyiv's minister of digital transformation, who is at the helm of the drone efforts against Moscow, told Newsweek in early December. "This is a 24/7 war."
Kamikaze drones of various types quickly became a common feature of the conflict, such as Ukraine's Beaver and the Iranian-designed Shaheds used by Russian forces.
Also known as Geran drones, they are known for their distinctive, low, buzzing sound, and are capable of carrying a warhead that shatters or explodes when it reaches the intended target. Once spotted, they are often relatively easy for Ukraine to shoot down, but detecting them is often the biggest challenge.
However, Ukrainian military officials said in November that Russia had started sending modified versions of the Shahed drones over Ukrainian territory. The new versions were darker and made of carbon fiber, making them harder for Ukrainian air defenses to pick up.
Tehran unveiled the Shahed-238 jet-powered drone in November 2022.
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