Russian drone strikes in early April: Surge in FPV use, new 'kamikaze' tactics

Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko writes on his Telegram channel.

Over the second week of April, Russia sharply intensified its deployment of FPV drones, launching approximately 5,500 units—a steep rise from just over 3,100 used during the first week. This brings the total number of FPV drones deployed in April so far to over 8,600, aligning with the monthly averages observed since the start of the year, despite an initially slower pace.

In contrast, the use of Lancet loitering munitions dropped dramatically to around 35 instances, down from 75 in the first week. The cause of this decline remains unclear but does not appear to be weather-related.

Meanwhile, the newer Molniya-2 'kamikaze' drones saw a surge in activity, with 160 launches recorded in the second week alone. One day even saw a record-breaking 50 attacks using this type. Altogether, more than 260 Molniya-2 drones were deployed in the first half of the month—suggesting a possible pivot away from older models like the Privet-82, which has not been observed in recent operations.

As for Shahed-136-type drones (including variants like Gerbera), the Russian army launched 496 of them in the second week of April, bringing the month’s total to 888 so far. While this represents an uptick compared to early April, the numbers still fall short of February and March levels. If the trend continues, April could end up being the least active month of 2025 in terms of Shahed drone usage.

One possible explanation for the dip in strikes is disruptions in the supply of components, though this has not been confirmed.

Despite the decline in overall drone raids, experts warn that the Russian army is refining its strike tactics, making attacks more effective. Notably, 11% of Shahed drones have successfully penetrated Ukrainian air defenses in recent days—the highest success rate recorded this year.

• On the night of Wednesday, April 16, Russia reported a drone attack on several regions. Restrictions on takeoffs and landings were introduced at the airports of Nizhny Novgorod and Yaroslavl.