Home » Primitive and vulnerable to electronic warfare: what is known about the Molniya-1 drone

Primitive and vulnerable to electronic warfare: what is known about the Molniya-1 drone

by alex

On Thursday, January 9, 2025, the Russian army struck Kharkov with Molniya-1 aircraft-type FPV drones in the Nemyshlyansky district of Kharkov, as a result of which a building was damaged. There were no casualties, said the mayor Igor Terekhov.

However, this is not the first time that Russian occupiers have struck Ukrainian cities with these drones. Thus, one of such strikes by the Russian Federation with Molniya drones on Kharkov took place in November 2024.

What is known about the Molniya UAV and how dangerous is it for Ukrainians — Valeriy Romanenko, an aviation expert and leading researcher at the Antonov State Aviation Museum, told ICTV Fakty.

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What is known about the Russian Molniya drone

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) “ Molniya ” This is a primitive Russian FPV strike drone of the airplane type, not a GPS-guided drone.

As Valery Romanenko points out, the main feature of the drone is its cost and primitiveness: it requires the simplest components that can be purchased on Chinese marketplaces, and the Lightning UAV itself costs about $300, if you do not add the drone's warhead to this cost.

— Plywood center section, foam wings, several more pieces of plywood as a control surface, that is, a steering wheel. And on its spine, it has an electric battery. It itself is equipped with an electric motor. It has a plywood motor mount in front and a tail unit in the back, — describes the components of Romanenko's drone.

On the one hand, the low cost and ease of production are advantages of this UAV. However, as Romanenko points out, since the drone is vulnerable to electronic warfare (EW), its effectiveness against most military targets is extremely low.

— Bullets can be made from shit. There are cases in history when cities were littered with shit to spread diseases there. But we still need to somehow compare the effectiveness of weapons with the cost of these weapons. If this drone is not resistant to electronic warfare, which is now widely used, then how useful is it? Electronic warfare is now widely used for both individual and group protection. Electronic warfare protects entire regions, the location of headquarters, and individual units, — says the expert.

At the same time, he points out that if the Russians want to shell Kharkov, the Molniya-1 UAV will be much more effective in terrorizing civilians than in hitting military targets.

Another advantage of such a drone, according to Molniya, is that Molniya — An airplane-type UAV can fly by inertia after the drone's connection with the pilot is interrupted.

— For example, if you have an anti-drone gun, it will stop the quadcopter. And an airplane-type UAV will simply fly past the small kill zone where the gun is. It can fly in your direction, or fall earlier, or fly further, — explains Romanenko.

The drone itself can be launched either by hand or from a primitive catapult.

Also, Romanenko confirms that given the simplicity of the Molniya-1 drone, several soldiers can carry it disassembled and then assemble it on site.

It's primitive. It can be assembled right on site in 3 hours. They assemble it with an electric motor. Everything is screwed in and done very quickly. Everything is on rectangular forms: a rectangular wing, rectangular tail, rectangular rudder. There is no talk of any aerodynamics. The catapult also consists of two metal sticks, into which this drone is inserted, — explains the expert.

Technical characteristics of the Molniya-1 drone

  • Wingspan ~ 1.5 m
  • Weight up to 10 kg
  • Combat load 3 kg
  • Range up to 30 km
  • Operating time up to 40 min
  • Speed ​​~ 20-25 m/sec (72-80 km/h)
  • Price ~ $300
  • Vulnerable to electronic warfare

The Russian Molniya drone has a battery that allows it to operate for about 40 minutes, during which this UAV can fly about 30 km.

Примитивный и уязвимый для РЭБ: что известно о дроне Молния-1

Dron Molniya-1/Infographics: our website

Another feature, according to Valeriy Romanenko, is that the Molniya UAV, despite the primitiveness of its design, can fly even in bad weather. For example, in the rain, in 40 minutes of work, its plywood will not have time to deteriorate, and the battery installed on the “ridge” drone, can be wrapped in film to protect against moisture.

At the same time, Romanenko points out that it is not as dangerous as the same Russian Lancet drones, which have a speed of about 300 km per hour and significantly more advanced optics, thanks to which they can capture a target for destruction.

The Ukrainian military can, in theory, shoot down primitive Molniya drones even with small arms if they see them in the sky, since the movement of such UAVs is quite slow.

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