Invisible and dangerous: what do we know about elusive Ukrainian Punisher drone

The Punisher unmanned aerial system is a light attack and reconnaissance UAV from the Ukrainian company UA Dynamics.  It was developed in 2016 specifically for units of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.  When he joined the army, he actively performed combat tasks on the front lines and before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine in February 2022, he managed to carry out about 120 missions, after that - about 60 more.

The Punisher strike-reconnaissance drone from the UA Dynamics company, photo: shotam.info

As of September 2022, 16 crews are already working with the Punisher drone, and the company plans to increase this number to 40 by the end of the year.

It would seem that the Punisher is a typical drone, but the development is quite interesting, considering the fact that the developer positions it as a "high-precision alternative to long-range artillery or missile weapons."  But about everything in turn.

Punisher drone: characteristics and purpose

UA Dynamics calls its Punisher UAV "the reusable strike drone with the lowest mission cost in the world."  On the battlefield, this drone can perform a wide range of tasks.  First of all, these are typical reconnaissance and strike missions for this weapon.  In addition, the Punisher asset includes such tasks as conducting psychological operations, as well as search and rescue missions - the drone can transport and drop a special container with medicines to the wounded.

The tactical and technical characteristics of this drone are as follows: the maximum combat radius is up to 45 km, the effective height as an attack drone is up to 400 m. The cruising speed is 80 km/h, the maximum is 198 km/h.  The Punisher drone can operate in adverse weather conditions, including wind speeds over 21 m/c.  The wingspan of the UAV is 2 m.

Drone is launched using a standard catapult, preparation for launch takes 15 minutes, "recharging" the drone (change of payload) takes 5 minutes.

Punisher drone comes standard with one drone (with three sets of batteries), a catapult, a ground station (with one set of batteries), an antenna and antenna cable, a ballistic calculator, modular components, carrying cases, and more.  The configuration can be changed according to customer requirements and mission needs.

Hit the enemy from the air

Punisher as an attack drone should be discussed separately.  According to the developer, the "sight" of this drone's weapons includes several targets, such as stationary brigade or division command posts and command communication vehicles, EW, air defense and anti-missile defense units, warehouses with fuel or ammunition, and barracks.

For an attack drone, the Punisher has high survivability - not a single drone has been lost since 2016.  This is because the Punisher is inconspicuous, silent, leaves no thermal footprint and has a controlled radio footprint reduction feature.

To destroy enemy targets, the Punisher drone uses unguided 75 mm bombs weighing 2 kg: UB-75HE with a high-explosive warhead against lightly armored targets, anti-tank UB-75HEAT with a cumulative warhead and UB-75HEI with an incendiary one.

Even though the bomb is unguided, it has the accuracy of guided weapons - when dropped from a height of up to 400 m, the error from the aiming point is up to 4 m. For example, the high-precision artillery projectile M982 Excalibur has the same indicator.

In general, Punisher operators choose stationary targets for strikes, although there have already been cases when it was possible to hit an enemy armored personnel carrier.

In one sortie, the Punisher can attack three different targets. It is interesting that the Spektr-1 correction drone, which is smaller in size and looks for targets in the enemy's rear, helps him to perform combat tasks.