The Lastochka complex was first demonstrated by the Russian army at one of the stages of Western strategic exercises, held at the Mulino training ground in the Nizhny Novgorod region in September 2021.
The manufacturer of the complex is JSC Design Bureau Luch. Its range is up to 25 km, its weight is 4 kg, and its flight time is 1.5 hours. The drone has been declared as an attack drone, but it has not been officially announced what kind of ammunition it uses. It was only noted that these were “small special ammunition”.
Now, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the complex “Swallow” was used during a special operation in Ukraine. It was noted that these UAVs “destroyed a large number of armored targets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the conflict and opened fire on manpower”.
“The Russian army uses a wide variety of unmanned aerial vehicles, including the Lastochka complex, during a special military operation,” a source at Rostec told socialbites.ca. – These are fairly new drones that are used precisely as combat vehicles due to suspended ammunition.
UAVs have a fairly long flight range and can barrage the sky with precise hits, both with reconnaissance functions and with special grenades.
“Lastochka” is exactly the complex, which, in addition to the drones themselves, includes a command post in the control vehicle, which maintains contact with them and gives the coordinates of ground targets.
The new drone “Swallow” was launched from a special catapult.
“As a weapon, Lastochka can use 43 mm grenades, for example, from a GM-94 grenade launcher, which can be used for air strikes. The range of these grenades also includes the VKO-25 HEAT ammunition, which can pierce tank armor. On a steep dive, they easily break the top of the tower or they are guaranteed to destroy the engine compartment. Fragmentation and thermobaric VOG-25 can be used against infantry. Now, during the use of the Lastochka UAV, it is likely that a combined version of attacking the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be used, ”retired Major General of the Air Force Vladimir Popov told socialbites.ca.
In turn, military expert and broadcaster Vladislav Shurygin noted that Lastochka could work with Pacer, a larger UAV.
“If we recall the first appearance of the Lastochka drone in exercises, then it acted there together with the Pacer strike aircraft,” Shurygin told socialbites.ca. – I can assume that at the moment even in Ukraine they work together and are used for various purposes. “Pacer”, also known as “Orion”, has great potential for both shock and reconnaissance and has a higher flight altitude. It can give target assignments for Lastochka and suggest strike locations through the control center. Likewise, “Swallow”, which discovers targets that it cannot destroy itself, can also direct larger UAVs to them.
Shurygin recalled that a similar tactic of working in pairs is now being tested with the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter and the promising heavy S-70 Okhotnik drones.
“The Lastochka’s small size gives it a stealth advantage, but makes it impossible to use heavier weapons. At the same time, the tasks of this drone are the possibility of combat use at the front. Such small sized drones are used in group use and can drop lots of different types of grenades from the sky. Of the UAVs of this class, Lastochkas became the first drones that can not only conduct reconnaissance of the territory and adjust the fire of artillery and missile systems, but also carry out targeted strikes, ”says military expert Sergei Belousov.