Key Points – In a significant battlefield development, Russia has deployed its own drone “mothership,” the Molniya, copying a tactic successfully pioneered by Ukraine.
-This cost-effective, battery-powered carrier drone is designed to ferry smaller, explosive-laden FPV drones up to 40 kilometers behind Ukrainian lines before releasing them for precision strikes. The Molniya itself can then act as an additional weapon.
-While Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable battlefield innovation with its drone programs, Russia’s ability to adopt these tactics and leverage its superior mass production capabilities, potentially aided by foreign supply chains, escalates the technological arms race in the ongoing conflict.
Russia Deploys Drone ‘Mothership’ to Counter Ukraine’s Ingenuity
In a troubling twist for Ukraine’s battlefield innovations, Russia has unveiled its version of the drone “mothership”, a technology Ukraine had previously pioneered.
In a first confirmed sighting, Russian forces have deployed the Molniya drone carrier, a cost-effective, battery-powered drone capable of ferrying explosive-laden FPV drones far behind Ukrainian lines.
Ukraine’s ‘Piggybacking’ Strategy
The implications are serious.
Ukraine’s drone motherships have been instrumental in extending the range and lethality of small drones capable of striking targets tens of kilometers beyond the frontlines.
By piggybacking smaller drones on larger carriers, Ukrainian forces bypassed traditional range limitations, with spectacular results.
Just days ago, Ukraine’s security services (SBU) used a swarm of modified drones to destroy more than a dozen Russian strategic bombers deep inside Russian territory.
Russia Ramps up Drone Tech
Now, Russia has adopted the same tactic. The Molniya, identified by defense analyst Rob Lee, can travel up to 40 kilometers before releasing its deadly cargo—small FPV drones controlled via radio relay systems. Once the strike drone is deployed, the mothership itself can act as an additional weapon, launching its own final attack.
Ukraine initially rolled its aerial motherships out at the end of 2023. Last year they also began using unmanned surface vessels which launch FPV drones, allowing them to precisely attack Russian assets in Crimea.
Ukraine’s latest model, the StratForce Gogol-M, boasts an impressive 300-kilometer range and autonomous AI navigation, cutting the cost of long-range strikes from millions to mere thousands of dollars.
The Russian adaptation of this technology raises new concerns about escalation and counter-escalation. Although it’s unclear whether the Molniya incorporates AI guidance, its sheer affordability and range could pose a formidable challenge to Ukrainian defenses, particularly if produced in large quantities.
Ukraine’s Secret Drones
Meanwhile, back in Ukraine’s hidden drone workshops near the frontline, young engineers continue to innovate under fire. In startup-like facilities, they retrofit commercial drones, adding retransmitters and jamming-resistant communications to evade Russian electronic warfare. Daily, these workshops churn out dozens of drones, turning toys into precision-guided munitions.
Yet Ukraine’s challenge remains stark: while its ingenuity leads the technological race on the battlefield, Russia’s access to mass production, quietly aided by foreign supply chains, could tip the balance. As one Ukrainian commander dryly noted, “Russia has the factory; we have the ideas.”
The next phase of the drone war may not be decided by who invents faster, but by who scales smarter.
About the Author:
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
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Swamplaw Yankee
June 9, 2025 at 4:52 am
The basic question is why did the USA greenlight the re-start of this re-conquest back in 2014? What was in the brains of POTUS Obama-Biden-Democrat elite?
The O-B-D cabal unilaterally greenlighted the re-start of this re-conquest of the Ukraine. Worst the O-B-D betrayed the WEST by covertly greenlighting this loss of Ukrainian Crimean Land mass and Black/Azov sea zones. This betrayal of the WEST could be remedied by Trump today! But MAGA POTUS Trump seems unable to grasp the USA 2014 betrayal of the WEST. Worst, Trump does not want to state out loud, that the O-B-D cabal were traitors of the WEST.
While creativity on the field is so desirable, creativity in strategy is necessary. Ukraine excels in both.
Trump needs to be creative with Putin. NOW. MAGA POTUS Trump needs to demand that Putin immediately transfers $10, 000, 000 in gold bullion to each and every human trafficked children as compensation and reparation before any other agenda items is introduced.
Once Putin pays the first 100,000 victims the gold bullion, the need for gold bullion for the rest will wither the russians ancient urge to harvest “Lolitas” children across Ukraine. -30-