The Ukrainian military will receive long-range drones of a new model that will hit targets in the deep rear of Russia.

A photo of the new drone was released by Ukrainian volunteer Serhiy Prytula.

“A month ago, we raised UAH 177 million for the Morok long-range kamikaze drones as part of the “One More Time” fundraising campaign. And now the first drones are already being prepared for delivery to the relevant agencies. In winter, we are waiting for video content with explosions in Russia,” he wrote.

According to Prytula, the drone, called Morok, which was first presented to the public, is designed to carry out in-depth strikes in the Russian Federation. Similarly, last year, Bober drones were purchased.

Compared to the previous drone, the Morok drone is smaller and cheaper—about UAH 1.7 million versus UAH 4 million for the Bober drone.

Serhiy Prytula and the Bober kamikaze drone. Photo from open sources

The exact technical characteristics of the drone are not disclosed, but judging by the tasks assigned, the flight range should be hundreds of kilometers.

The drone is about 1.5 meters long and has a wingspan of about 1.5 meters.

The airplane’s aerodynamic design is similar to that used in high-speed jet aircraft. However, the black superstructure in the tail of the fuselage just behind the keel looks like an internal combustion engine.

Morok drone, November 2023. Photo credits: Serhiy Prytula

There are no optical devices on the drone, which may indicate the use of a traditional flight control scheme using an inertial system with correction by GPS signals without the involvement of an operator.

New drones

On November 16, Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin announced that the Ukrainian defense industry had launched mass production of drones similar to Iran’s Shahed-136.

According to the Minister, the Ukrainian defense industry has now launched mass production of dozens of kamikaze drones per month. He noted that these are new drones that have not been publicly presented before.

Shahed-136 loitering munition. Illustrative photo

Presumably, by “analogous to the Shahed drone,” the Head of the Ministry means an unmanned aerial vehicle with an appropriate warhead and range. It is worth pointing out that the Iranian drone is capable of delivering between 40 and 50 kilograms of explosives over a distance of 1000-2000 km.

Finland hands over a new military aid package to Ukraine, estimated at €100 million.

The Ministry of Defense of Finland reported on this.

The new aid package from Finland is the 20th since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.

“What is at stake in Ukraine’s defense struggle is the security environment outlook on Europe and Finland in the current decade. Together with our allies, we remain unwavering in our commitment to support Ukrainians,” says Finnish Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen.

Further details on the content of the package, the way it is delivered, or the schedule will not be given for operational reasons, and to ensure that the assistance will reach its destination safely.

XA-180 armored personnel carrier (APC) of the Armed Forces. December 2022. Photo credits: Ukrainian Marine Command

The Finnish Defense Ministry added that both Ukraine’s needs and the resources of the Finnish Defense Forces have been taken into account when deciding on additional assistance.

On October 29, Militarnyi reported that Finland is preparing a new aid package for Ukraine aimed at protecting critical infrastructure in the fall and winter.

At the same time, it was reported that Finland’s assistance targets strengthening the capacity of Ukrainian rescuers.

In addition, Ukraine will organize training for Finnish rescuers who are impressed by the work of their Ukrainian colleagues during the full-scale invasion and wish to adopt the practical experience gained.

On September 28, Militarnyi reported that the Finnish Ministry of Defense had handed over 130 K 54 130mm guns to the Ukrainian military.

130 K 54 130mm guns (М-46) of the military of Ukraine. Frame from the Ukraine Weapons Tracker video

The number of transferred guns is not disclosed, but it is known that Finland acquired 144 M-46 guns from the Soviet Union in 1965-66 and 166 from the former East Germany in 1993.

Guns are designed to destroy ground fortifications, combat enemy artillery, armored vehicles, and mortars, and suppress enemy manpower.

The Dutch government has prepared €2 billion for military aid to Ukraine in 2024.

Reuters reported on this.

According to Dutch Defense Minister, Kajsa Ollongren, the allocation of these funds is a sign of unwavering support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.

It is part of a wider package the Netherlands will provide to Ukraine next year that includes an initial €102 million for reconstruction and humanitarian aid.

It is noted that, if necessary, the amount of funds allocated for reconstruction and humanitarian aid may be increased.

Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Kajsa Ollongren. Photo from open sources.

The latest package takes the total amount of Dutch support for Ukraine during the conflict to around €7.5 billion, Ollongren said.

“This will safeguard our support for Ukraine and ensure continuity, which is critical for Ukraine,” she said, referring to a November 22 election in the Netherlands that will change the composition of the ruling government coalition.

Support will be provided based on Ukraine’s needs, and may include advanced drone capabilities.

At the beginning of November, the Dutch government announced the provision of a new package of military aid to Ukraine, which includes artillery and tank ammunition.

Militarnyi previously reported that Finland handed over a new military aid package to Ukraine, estimated at €100 million.

Illustrative photo of 155-mm ammunition. Photo from open sources.

Further details on the content of the package, the way it is delivered, or the schedule will not be given for operational reasons, and to ensure that the assistance will reach its destination safely.

On November 13, it was reported that the European Union has provided Ukraine with €27 billion in military aid since the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.

Back in the summer, it became known that the EU was planning to create a special fund to finance Ukrainian defense.

It is designed for the next four years and includes €20 billion.

Operators of the Security Service of Ukraine Special Group “Alpha” destroyed the Russian 2S5 Giacint-S self-propelled gun using a kamikaze drone of an unknown type.

The video was published by the Security Service of Ukraine press service.

The first footage shows the flight of an unknown UAV, the V-shaped tail of which resembles the tail of a Ukrainian Shark UAV.

The drone wing is rectangular and also resembles the Shark drone wing of one of the first variations.

It can be assumed that a kamikaze drone was created based on this drone. It is worth noting that the aerodynamic configuration of the UAV is also similar to that of Ukrainian RAM II and the Polish Warmate drones.

The V-tail RAM II is made according to the classic aerodynamic configuration, where the stabilizers are directed to the top and the keel to the bottom. The drone in the video, visually, is the opposite.

Although it can be assumed that this is still RAM II, which hits the target in an inverted position.

In addition, the video shows the defeat of a large number of Russian armored vehicles using FPV drones.

In particular, special forces hit five tanks, two IFVs, two APCs, automotive equipment, a surveillance device, and an armored vehicle that is similar to a C2V or a communications vehicle.

On November 11, Militarnyi reported that the Security Service of Ukraine operators in the hottest areas of the front hit much equipment and manpower of the Russian invasion forces.

Kamikaze drones were mainly used to defeat enemy equipment, in particular near Avdiivka.

Earlier, on October 30, it was reported that the forces of the Special Group “Alpha” destroyed the ТОS-1А heavy flamethrower system near Avdiivka.

The United States plans to provide spare parts for Ukraine-bound F-16 fighter jets.

The Pentagon reported on this.

The department emphasized that once those F-16s are in the hands of the Ukrainians, however, support will not stop.

There will need to be spare parts to ensure they can be sustained and keep flying. The U.S. is prepared to do that as well, said William A. LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.

“Whatever we all deliver to the Ukrainians, provide 90 days of spares, please, please, that’s the rule of thumb — 90 days of spares,” he said.

Maintenance of an F-16 fighter jet. Photo credits: US Air Force

Without spares, the Pentagon official said the F-16s the Ukrainians fly could be grounded in just a few months, and the United States is not going to let that happen.

“And just because other countries provide their airplanes, we have to make sure if they don’t provide the spares that we find the spares and provide them,” LaPlante said.

The U.S. and its partners, especially though the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, are working together to ensure Ukraine has what it needs and is also able to provide for itself, over the long term.

In October, Ukrainian pilots started practical flight training on F-16s in the United States.

The 162nd Wing trains pilots at Morris Air National Guard Base, located at Tucson International Airport. It is the only U.S. Air Force unit tasked with training foreign pilots on F-16s. European nations are also training Ukrainian pilots on how to operate the F-16s.

F-16BM J-065 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force during take-off. Photo from the network

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of State approved the transfer of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by third parties. The Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway have announced their intention to provide Ukraine with F-16s from their own stockpiles.

The Minister of Defense of Belgium announced the delivery of Belgian F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in 2025.

On the morning of Friday, November 17, the Russian Smolensk was attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles.

Local residents wrote on social media about the sounds of explosions in the area of the city’s aviation plant.

Eyewitnesses reported that fire trucks drove toward the enterprise.

The fact that the Russian city was attacked by drones was confirmed by the Smolensk oblast Governor, Vasily Anokhin. In his Telegram channel, in the traditional style of Russian propaganda, he stated that air defense and electronic warfare had allegedly destroyed “Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.” According to him, this happened in the Zadneprovsky district of Smolensk and on the territory of the Smolensk district.

“According to preliminary data, no casualties were reported. Operational services are working at the scene,” the official of the aggressor country wrote.

Reports of explosions in Smolensk from locals, November 17, 2023. Photo credits: Telegram/Real War

However, later in the evening, Russian social media disclosed details of the attack on the Smolensk Aviation Plan.

The Russian Telegram channel Baza wrote that one of the drones tried to attack the Smolensk Aviation Plant.

According to Baza’s intelligence, the drone was supposedly suppressed by electronic warfare at 8:00 a.m. local time. As a result, it fell to the roof of one of the company’s workshops and exploded. This caused a fire.

The fire was extinguished after a while. The incident reportedly left a meter-long hole in the roof. No one was allegedly injured.

It is worth noting that this is not the first attack on the Aviation Plant in Smolensk. The previous attack was reported on October 1, 2023. Later, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine revealed the target of the attack on the Smolensk Aviation Plant, which is part of the Russian JSC Tactical Missiles Corporation.

Smolensk Aviation Plant. Photo from open sources

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the October strike halted the production of Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles in numerous versions.

“According to confirmed data, three of the four drones hit the target, causing significant damage to the production facilities of the military enterprise of Russia,” the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine stated.

The Ukrainian military launched a high-precision strike on a building used by the Russian invaders as a military base.

The two-story building in the village of Askania Nova in the Kherson region could have been a headquarters or barracks.

The video of the hit was published by the Flying Skull Telegram channel.

The location of the Russians was detected by a Ukrainian drone, presumably a domestically produced SHARK.

Damaged Russian military base in Askania-Nova, November 2023.

A reconnaissance drone spotted Russian military equipment near the building.

One of the vehicles looked like a mobile command post vehicle based on an APC-80, possibly a R149BMR. There was also a military truck.

Having identified the coordinates of the building with the Russian invaders, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit it.

According to the published video, the strike was delivered with high precision, and the nearby buildings were not damaged. OSINT analysts used the video to determine the coordinates of the building.

Damaged Russian military base in Askania-Nova, November 2023.

Such precision may indicate that the strike was carried out by U.S. HIMARS systems.

Damaged Russian military base in Askania-Nova, November 2023.

The building occupied by the Russian military in Askania-Nova is located just over 50 kilometers from the frontline.

Damaged Russian military base in Askania-Nova, November 2023.

The building was partially destroyed as a result of the Ukrainian army strike. It is not yet known what losses the Russians suffered.

Previously, an invaders’ forward base in the village of Brylivka on the left bank of the Kherson region was hit with HIMARS.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have received more than two thousand Ukrainian-made drones of various types.

Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reported on this.

The new batch of drones was delivered as part of the Army of Drones project.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will distribute and transfer drones to the military in the active spots of the Russian-Ukrainian war frontlines.

This batch included drones of various types made exclusively in Ukraine.

Drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the Army of Drones project, November 2023

These are strike and reconnaissance UAVs, as well as kamikaze drones.

Drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the Army of Drones project, November 2023. Photo credits: Mykhailo Fedorov

“Among them are quadcopters and unmanned aircraft systems: reconnaissance, kamikaze drones. The drones will help to destroy enemy positions and equipment,” emphasized Fedorov.

He added that all the drones were purchased under the state program.

The footage captures FPV kamikaze drones, large drones designed to drop ammunition, reconnaissance drones, including Valkyrie, etc.

The Defense Forces of Ukraine received the previous large batch of UAVs for various purposes as part of the Army of Drones project ten days ago.

More than 900 drones transferred to the Ukrainian military within the Army of Drones project, November 8, 2023. Photo credits: Mykhailo Fedorov

As previously reported, the Ukrainian military has received more than 900 drones. Among them were the DJI Mavic 3 drones, Nemesis, and Vampire drones, along with the Avenger strike aircraft.

The Army of Drones is a program that includes the system purchase of drones, and their repair and maintenance. And if necessary, operational replacement of lost UAVs and pilot training courses. In August 2022, the first drones purchased within the Army of Drones project were delivered to Ukraine to meet the needs of the Defense Forces.

The EU’s defense industry denies any fault in the failure of the plan to supply Ukraine with shells.

Recently, EU Foreign Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell said that defense companies were still exporting 40% of their production all over the world, instead of Ukraine.

The Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe stated that it disagreed with such accusations.

Obviously, they cannot refuse to fulfill the orders, as this would “seriously undermine the credibility of the European defense industry as a supplier.”

“The double challenge for industry today—after decades-long underinvestment and the subsequent reduction of manufacturing capacities—is to ramp up production both to support Ukraine and to replenish and reinforce the stocks of armed forces in Europe,” the Association said in its statement.

155mm shells in Tarbes, France. Photo illustration

As for the fact that the European defense industry will not be able to supply Ukraine with about 700,000 rounds of ammunition (300,000 were transferred from the stockpiles of EU member states) by March 2024, the Association emphasized that this “political goal” was very ambitious when it was announced.

Increase in production

But they also note that “this number of shells can be delivered, even if it takes a little longer.”

“It is a complex process that requires meticulous long-term planning and consideration of various factors to ensure its success, efficiency and viability,” the association said in a statement.

What’s needed to allow companies to invest in long-term production hikes is more long-term contracts, the Association said.

“Industry has already significantly expanded its production capacities and increased production as much as possible under adverse circumstances (swelling raw material costs, shortages of qualified workforce, burdensome regulation and administrative processes, paucity of actual orders),” the association’s statement reads.

As previously reported, Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs Minister of Ukraine, confirmed media reports that the European Union will not be able to fulfill its plan to supply a million artillery shells to Ukraine until March 2024. According to him, the EU has already started taking certain steps to correct this situation.

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Photo from open sources.

“There are issues, and we are, let’s say, ringing the bells a lot and loudly. I believe that the reason for these issues is not the lack of political will in the EU to support Ukraine. There is such political will, but, let’s say, there is the deplorable state of the defense industry that is capable of producing a sufficient number of shells, and warehouses, and the ability to conclude foreign contracts. It turned out that there are a lot of obstacles, a lot of unsynchronized things, a lot of bureaucracy,” said Kuleba.

The Ukrainian military destroyed a number of Russian Grad MRLs in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Soldiers of the Achilles strike unmanned aerial system company detected Russian missile launchers in the Bakhmut sector of the Donetsk region.

FPV drones, equipped with a warhead, were used to destroy the BM-21 Grad installations.

Servicemen of the strike UAS Company of the 92nd Assault Brigade managed to hit two Russian rocket launchers.

Russian BM-21 Grad MRLs after and before being hit by Ukrainian FPV drones. November 2023, Ukraine. A frame from the video of the Achilles unit

Another method was chosen to destroy the MRLs in the Luhansk region.

Reconnaissance personnel have discovered three BM-21 Grad MLRS near the occupied town of Svatove.

Destruction of the Russian BM-21 “Grad” rocket launcher. November 2023, Ukraine. Frame from the video of the “Aeronauts” unit

Furia reconnaissance drone of Ukrainian production was engaged in adjusting the fire.

Cluster ammunition was launched at the Russian positions, hitting the Grads and neutralizing them.

“Out of three BM-21s, two are scrap, and one burned down. They detonated due to a cluster ammunition,” the Aeronauts unit reported.

American M864 cluster shells were presumably used in the strike.

Recently, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces also used FPV drones to fire artillery and hit a Russian Ural carrying shells for these rocket launchers.

Damage to the Russian BM-21 Grad rocket launcher. November 2023, Ukraine. Frame from the video of the Ukrainian SOF

“As a result of the combat mission, the Ural-4320 truck with ammunition for the Grad MLRS (55 Iranian-made rockets, according to reconnaissance data) was destroyed, and the BM-21 Grad MRL damaged,” the Ukrainian SOF announced.