Published: November 18, 2023 2:32 pm
Author: RT
The elimination of a Krab self-propelled gun by a Lancet loitering munition has been captured on video
A video has surfaced online showing a Polish-supplied Krab howitzer, operated by Ukraine’s forces, being struck and destroyed by a Russian Lancet kamikaze drone.
The footage was taken by a surveillance drone on the right side of the Dnieper River in Kherson Region, according to the Telegram channel that posted the clip on Saturday.
The Lancent targeted the self-propelled gun after it was spotted hidden in the undergrowth. The loitering munition hit the Krab on its rear, causing an explosion and a blaze.
The fire appears to have reached the howitzer’s ammunition load, as the video concludes with the Polish hardware being blown to pieces.
Warsaw donated 18 AHS Krab 155m self-propelled guns to Kiev shortly after the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. In July of that year, Ukraine struck a deal to purchase 54 more such howitzers from its neighbor. Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported the destruction of Krab systems on many occasions since then.
Some commentators have suggested that the Krab in the video was blown up by an advanced version of the Lancet, which the Russian military began deploying in Ukraine recently.
According to reports in the Russian and Western media, the newest iteration of the drone is equipped with lidar technology, involving a laser rangefinder made of two optical cameras, that allows it to detonate its warhead at an optimal distance from the target. The system was allegedly designed in order to bypass anti-drone cages and other additional defenses that are being put on hardware by both sides during the conflict.
Lancet drones, produced by Zala Aero – a part of the Kalashnikov Group – are believed to represent the greatest threat to Ukrainian tanks and howitzers on the front line at the moment. The Russian loitering munition has a distinctive shape due to its two sets of X-wings and comes in two principal versions, with payloads weighing one and three kilograms respectively.
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Earlier this week, the head of the Russian arms-export agency Rosoboronexport, Aleksandr Mikheev, said foreign buyers have been showing strong interest in the Lancets. However, Mikheev stressed that the drones are not being sold abroad at the moment because “the Russian armed forces have a high demand for it and there is no export permission for it yet.”
