Ukrainian Liutyi drones strike deep inside Russia, hitting major missile and drone factory

Defense Express reported the information.

The Russian military enterprise Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol, located in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, which is 1,300 km from Ukraine, was successfully hit by Ukrainian long-range drones of the Liutyi type.

Numerous videos filmed by city residents themselves confirm this. They show a significant number of drones in flight, their high accuracy, and Russian attempts to shoot them down with small arms fire. As a result of the strikes, a fire broke out at the facility.

This attack is especially significant because the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol, although officially listed as a manufacturer of the Tor anti-aircraft missile system, now has another major contract to produce Shahed drones. The plant is mass-assembling them under its own name, Harpy-A1, with serial numbers starting with the letters K, KB, and KC.

This drone is a complete visual copy of the Shahed-136, but it differs in some components and assembly methods—not only from the Iranian original, but also from the Geranium-2 assembled at Alabuga. In particular, the level of localization and use of Russian components in the Harpy-A1 is higher, as is the quality of assembly.

At the same time, another important detail of this attack can be noted: slightly modified Ukrainian Liutyi UAVs carried out this long-range strike. The video shows that the Ukrainian drones do not have landing gear.

Previously, an airplane takeoff was the only known launch method for the Liutyi. On one hand, this allowed it to be launched without additional equipment, such as a catapult or booster, simplifying the infrastructure and reducing costs.

On the other hand, it required a rather unusual launch setup, with the drone accompanying the aircraft during takeoff. This was likely done to allow the operator to control the drone’s acceleration, takeoff, and climb via radio.