Russia is losing a large number of expensive drones on the Ukrainian front, so it has decided to replace them with cheap “Molniya” drones and overload its bases with reconnaissance UAVs, Deputy Defense Minister Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov reported.
According to him, Ukraine’s air defense drones are quite effective, causing the enemy to lose Orlan, Supercam, and ZALA drones. The cost of these UAVs ranges from tens of thousands of dollars: Orlan – $87,000–$120,000, ZALA – around $70,000, and Supercam – approximately $400,000–$410,000 per system.
The “Molniya” is much cheaper, costing about $300–$800. For this reason, Flash said, the enemy decided to “flood” all fronts with them.
“Every day I receive up to ten photos of this ‘Molniya’; there are a lot of them now,” the deputy minister said.
The drone’s configuration is always the same: SIYI ZR10 camera, an AI module also from SIY, and an MASH modem 1300–1500 MHz (2x2 watts). Only the Ethernet switch varies, he noted.
