Ukrainian troops prepating to deploy a Vampire heavy bomber drone, Zaporizhzhia region, southeastern … [+] Ukraine.

Future Publishing via Getty Images

Ukraine’s heavy drone bombers, known to the Russians as Baba Yagas, are the unsung heroes of the war. While FPVs and small quadcopters get all the attention, the night bombers inflict heavy losses on Russian forces which are barely noted. Sequences shot through thermal imagers are hard to interpret and do not have the same appeal as daytime videos.

But there are indications that the night bombers are having far more impact than is currently appreciated.

A Fleet of Two Thousand Bombers

The term ‘Baba Yaga’ is a generic one applied by the Russians who often have no idea what type of bomber drone is hovering nearby. The Ukrainians operate several varieties, including the Vampire, R18, Nemesis and Kazhan (“Bat”) , with four, six or eight rotors and typically carrying a bombload of 20-40 pounds. They can strike at ranges of up to 12 miles, carrying less bombs on longer missions.

Typical weapons include 22-pound TM-62 anti-tank mines adapted for aerial bombing; some drones can carry two of these and drop them with high precision. They also carry 82mm and 120mm mortar bombs.

While they generally drop bombs from the hover, some videos show the multicopter pursuing moving vehicles and hitting them, which requires considerable skill.

There is also one instance of a drone bomber apparently armed with a laser-guided bomb, which can hit targets with high precision from considerable range. Such bombs may be used to tackle air defense systems but they seem to be rare compared to more basic munitions. The heavy multicopter also occasionally deliver supplies to frontline troops.

TM-62 anti-tank mines converted into drone bombs for night bombers

Ukraine MoD

The big drones make a lot of noise and are audible from miles away. They are also easy to spot in daytime. These bombers almost invariably fly at night and keep to low altitudes to avoid air defence systems. All are equipped with thermal imagers to find targets.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense acquired more than 2,000 heavy bomber drones through official channels last year, More were supplied by volunteers and fundraisers but there are no totals for these. One bomber costs in the region of $20,000, so the entire fleet cost about half as much as one F-16.

A drone team typically deploys to the front line shortly after nightfall and carries out multiple missions each night, dropping bombs or laying mines. (Crewed aircraft typically fly one sortie per day). They are frequently targeted: the Russians will attempt to locate their position by their radio emissions, or will follow the drone back to them with a quadcopter. Teams are often targeted with artillery or airstrikes, and need to move position regularly.

Why Bomber Kills Are Undercounted

OSINT analyst Andrew Perpetua who analyzes, tabulates and tries to geolocate every single combat video out of Ukraine, believes that the effect of night bombers is being seriously underestimated.

Vampire drone loaded and ready to go

Libkos via Getty Images

Any assessment of Russian losses – like the recent look at what proportion are caused by FPVs – relies on sources like Oryx and WarSpotting who provide accurate, deduplicated imagery confirming each loss. Writing on Twitter/X, Perpetua notes that because done bomber kills are shown from above and with a thermal imager, the exact vehicle type is hard to identify. And while the bombing often produced a dramatic explosion, this is not the same as a confirmed kill where the aftereffects are visible in daylight.

“The methodology used by the loss aggregators is highly conservative and struggles to deal with the types of footage available at the moment. And as a result will lag behind reality,” Perpetua writes.

This loss will not appear on lists until a daytime image of the destroyed vehicle appears, which may be some time later, and which does not necessarily give any clue as to what destroyed it.

(Even so, they still scored more confirmed kills of Russian T-90Ms than, artillery or guided missiles in the last quarter).

“Ukraine has pivoted to using heavy bomber drones to destroy vehicles, and posts tremendous numbers of losses per day using this method,” writes Perpetua.

He backs this up with figures which he has compiled from attack videos, shown in the graph below indicating how the bomber kills rose rapidly in 2024. (Note that the figure for December is only for the first 18 days of the month)>

Data from Andrew Perpetua showing the sharp rise in drone bomber strikes in 2024

David Hambling, data from Andrew Perpetua
The View From The Other Side: Russian Baba Yagas

There is more confirmation of the effectiveness of the night bombers from the Russian side. Although several different Russian ‘Baba Yaga clones’ have been demonstrated, these do not seem to have reached the front. Instead, the Russians are enthusiastically refurbishing downed Ukrainian bomber drones and putting them into service.

“Many Russian Telegram channels post photos and videos of Ukraine-made ‘Baba Yaga’ heavy multirotor drone repaired and used against Ukrainian forces,” writes drone expert Samuel Bendett on Twitter/X.

A Ukrainian bomber captured by the Russians shown on state news media

Russian media via Twitter/X

OSINT analyst ‘Roy’ notes that the Russians are even creating a supply chain to keep their trophy bombers in service.

“Another testament to the failure of the Russians to develop heavy drones is that they have started production of propellers for captured Ukrainian Baba Yagas,” Roy notes in Twitter/X.

We know also how much the Russians fear the ‘Baba Yagas.’ One Russian report says that a soldier can claim 10 days’ vacation if he brings one down. They also say that Baba Yagas swoop down at night to carry away wounded Russian soldiers in their metal claws, and can only be brought down with a flamethrower.

Ukrainians feed the mythology and have posted about armored Baba Yagas which are immune to gunfire. There is even a deadpan posting about a Vampire drone fitted with explosive reactive armor which survived an attack by a Russian FPV drone. This may be taken with a large pinch of salt.

It is not clear why the Russian are have failed to field their own heavy bombers and are resorting to bizarre efforts like this machine which uses four quadcopters linked together.

Ukraine has a clear lead in heavy bomber drones, although the full scale of the damage they are inflicting will not be known until after the war.