Cheap Russian drone a menace to Ukrainian troops and equipment

Russia's defence ministry has been encouraging an increase of production of the Lancet as a cheap way to hit high-value western equipment given to Ukraine for its counteroffensive, said Samuel Bendett, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

Bendett said that, according to publicly available Russian sources, a Lancet drone costs approximately 3 million roubles (around $35,000).

In comparison, analysts estimate a single S-300 missile used by Russia to cost at least several hundred thousand dollars. A Leopard 2 tank is worth several million dollars.

Because the Lancet is a single-use device that destroys itself on impact, Bendett said it can only be viable if the cost is kept down to the tens of thousands of dollars per drone.

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