The “first drone war” between Russia and Ukraine is producing new deadly combinations of cheap drones and explosives.
Israeli sources following this war because it has implications for the use of armed drones by Hezbollah in Lebanon said that in recent weeks the Russians have started to use the Molniya drone carrying TM-62 anti-tank mines, turning it into a low-cost strike UAV with a much heavier blast effect than a small FPV warhead.
The TM-62 is a standard Russian/Soviet-style anti-tank mine, and one report on a recently intercepted Russian drone said a full mine weighing about 10 kg was mounted in the nose section. Other reporting says Molniya drones have also been adapted to carry anti-personnel mines, spikes, and other improvised payloads.
This combination, according to the Israeli sources is a very cheap fixed-wing drone, so pairing it with a heavy mine gives Russian forces a relatively inexpensive way to deliver a large explosive charge deep behind the front line.
The sources added that this new combination is evolving quickly, with newer variants gaining better payload capacity, guidance, and reconnaissance equipment.
Recent reports analyzed by the Israeli experts show that Russian forces have used Molniya drones both as strike UAVs and as carriers for other munitions or sub-drones, showing they are experimenting with modular payload roles. In practice, that makes the platform less a single drone model and more a low-cost attack “system” built around a simple airframe.