In the context of the ARMY 2024 International Fair being held in Moscow, Rosoboronexport has unveiled a new export version of the Lancet loitering munition complex manufactured by Zala Aero and used by the Russian Armed Forces. The extensive use of this type of unmanned aerial vehicles, popularly known as “kamikaze drones,” in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has made an industrial impact, as their high profile has generated growing interest among military forces worldwide.
Developed by Aero Zala, a company within the Kalashnikov Group, the Lancet family of loitering munitions is used by the Russian Armed Forces for missions ranging from surveillance and reconnaissance to attacking enemy positions and armored vehicles. Its use in Ukraine, including targeting air defense systems, artillery, and armored vehicles, has raised its profile. Furthermore, its employment in military operations has enabled Aero Zala to increase production and introduce successive improvements and design refinements to meet the requirements of the Ground Forces.
The next major step for the Russian company is to offer this type of unmanned aerial vehicle complex to foreign markets. This is evidenced by the recent presentation of the Lancet-E at the ARMY 2024 international fair, alongside the Russian state agency Rosoboronexport.
Regarding this, Alexander Mikheev, General Director of Rosoboronexport, stated: “The presentation of the Lancet-E complex at the Army-2024 forum marked the beginning of Rosoboronexport’s promotion of this modern model in the global market. The complex has demonstrated the highest efficiency on the battlefield and the ability to target a wide range of objectives, from any type of armored vehicles and fortifications to surface targets. Because of this, the Lancet-E now has significant export potential, which we estimate at over a thousand complexes. I am confident that once the needs of the Russian Armed Forces are met, production capacity will allow successful delivery of the complex abroad. Additionally, Rosoboronexport actively offers its partners cooperation in the form of joint production and licensing of products on the client’s territory as part of a technological partnership.”
As for the characteristics of these new loitering munitions, the Lancet-E is presented as a complex of unmanned systems, with an unmanned aerial vehicle, called the Z-16-E, responsible for conducting surveillance, reconnaissance, target identification, and marking on the battlefield.
The information gathered by the Z-16-E is reported to the control center for deploying the loitering munitions, which will then carry out the attack on the designated targets. According to Aero Zala, the Lancet-E complex is complemented by two guided munition carriers, “Izdeliye 51-E” and “Izdeliye 52-E,” which differ in payload, range, and maximum takeoff weight.
Although no further details were provided, it is likely that the export versions closely resemble the variants currently used by the Russian Armed Forces. For example, Aero Zala currently markets the Z-51 and Z-52 loitering munitions. The Z-51 has an effective range of 50 kilometers, speeds of 80 km/h, and an explosive payload of 5 kilograms, while the Z-52 has a range of 30 kilometers and a warhead weighing 3 kilograms.
Finally, Rosoboronexport indicated that in addition to the export version of the Lancet, the ARMY 2024 fair is also showcasing an export-oriented version of the ZALA KUB loitering munition (designated KUB-E), as well as other unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and attack, such as the “Orlan-10E,” “Orlan-30,” and “Orion-E.”
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