“Pew pew”: Ukraine’s long-range campaign has just become even more effective with missile-equipped drones

Drones have changed how modern warfare is waged.

Russia is using thousands of low-cost drones to rain terror on Ukraine, but Ukraine is countering the Russian drones with its own.

Additionally, Ukraine is expanding its long-range campaign targeting Russian territory using a variety of domestically produced drones and weapons, though not all Ukrainian operations are long-range.

The Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has become an important military logistics hub for Russian forces.

Ukraine routinely hits Russian targets in Crimea, but a video released by the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine (USF) has caught the attention of military observers.

The reason? The Ukrainian drone fires rockets.

A deadly drone turned even deadlier

The USF released the video on X, showing the rocket-equipped drone in action.

The footage is primarily from the drone operator’s point of view, but a short sequence recorded from the ground shows the drone flying and launching rockets.

The footage recorded from the ground was allegedly captured by Russian troops and later posted on Telegram.

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The FP-1 drone

The drone in the footage is most likely the long-range FP-1 drone.

In November 2025, The New Voice of Ukraine reported that the FP-1 is a kamikaze drone built to target the enemy’s deep rear areas.

It has reportedly been used to strike Russian energy infrastructure, depots, and other strategic targets.

The defining feature of kamikaze drones is that they are typically single-use weapons because they explode on impact. By equipping the drone with rockets, however, the USF has effectively transformed the kamikaze drone into a reusable remotely controlled aircraft.

Enemy lives worth “pennies”

In the video, the USF describes the lives of the Russian mobile fire group crews as worth “pennies”, making the use of expensive weapons designed for high-value targets an inefficient choice.

The unguided rockets used in this instance, however, are considered a cheap alternative.

According to Forbes, the rockets used are unguided S-5 rockets — a Soviet design based on a German World War II-era design — with an effective range of more than three kilometers.

Sources: X post by the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine, The New Voice of Ukraine, Forbes

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation