Ukrainian Drone Battalion Near Huliaipole Tests Heavy Fixed-Wing Drones Against Armored Vehicles
Ukraine's 237th Unmanned Systems Battalion in Zaporizhzhia Oblast has used heavy fixed-wing drones in some strikes on Russian vehicles near Huliaipole, instead of the usual FPV drones. This may point to a new tactic against vehicles fitted with anti-drone armor.
Ukraine's 237th Unmanned Systems Battalion, operating west of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine, has used heavy fixed-wing drones against individual Russian armored vehicles. This is shown in a video montage the battalion published on 30 October, and it may signal a new tactic against Russian vehicles that increasingly carry anti-drone protection.
Why it is unusual
The footage shows strikes on trucks, armored vehicles and artillery. Most involve standard FPV drones, which are flown by a pilot using a live video feed. A few, however, involve much heavier fixed-wing drones.
Ukrainian units usually keep such drones, including the Fire Point FP-1 and FP-2, for deep strikes hundreds of kilometers behind the front line. Closer to the front they are mostly used against Russian supply lines. The reason is cost: an FP-1 or FP-2 may cost about $50,000, while an FPV drone costs around $500. The FP-2 can carry a warhead of up to 158 kg, compared with roughly 1 kg for an FPV.
The math is changing
Russian forces have added cages, plates, mesh and spikes to their vehicles to detonate FPV warheads at a safe distance from the hull. Some of these vehicles have absorbed dozens of FPV hits. If dozens of $500 drones are needed to disable one vehicle, a single fixed-wing drone may be more cost-effective, since a direct hit with a 158 kg warhead destroys it.
Observer Moklasen predicts this is how Ukraine will adapt if Russia resumes armored assaults. For now, the battalion is keeping up pressure on Russia's 127th Motor Rifle Division and adjacent units.
The front near Huliaipole
Last year, Russian forces made significant gains on this axis while pushing toward Zaporizhzhia City. In February, Ukrainian assault brigades counterattacked after Russia's Starlink terminals were cut off. Mapper Clément Molin writes that in 2026 the Ukrainian army has stabilized the southern front and reclaimed more territory than it lost. Russia continues to attack along a 30-km-wide front, but its advance remains limited.
