On August 8, 2025, Ukraine unveiled its newly developed “Bliskavka” kamikaze drone — essentially a reverse-engineered and refined version of Russia’s “Molniya” UAV. While the two look strikingly similar, Ukrainian engineers have introduced modifications that extended the drone’s range to 40 kilometers (compared to the 30–35 km of its predecessor) and increased its payload capacity to 8 kilograms.

The design remains extremely simple: a wooden center wing section, metal tubes serving as structural elements, a front-mounted motor, and a battery positioned on top. This minimalist approach ensures ease of production and repair — a crucial advantage in large-scale conflict, where hundreds of such drones are needed every month.

According to military analysts, the appearance of the “Bliskavka” reflects a core trend in modern warfare — the rapid adaptation of enemy technology. The cycle of “copy – modify – deploy” is now measured not in years, but in months. This accelerates the arms race at the tactical level, where decisive factors are the speed of engineering solutions and the ability to quickly replenish lost equipment.

In the current environment — where frontlines are saturated with air defense systems and operations rely heavily on constant pressure against enemy logistics and positions — drones like the “Bliskavka” could become a key element in combined strike operations. Each new iteration marks a step toward more precise and destructive attacks, and signals that the technological contest in this war has reached a point where any advantage is quickly countered by an opposing innovation.

The histogram compares the Ukrainian kamikaze drone “Bylska” and the Russian drones “Molniya-1” and “Molniya-2” based on three indicators: flight range (km), payload (kg), and cost ($). Users can switch between indicators to visualize the differences: Bylska offers a balance between performance and cost, Molniya-1 is the cheapest, and Molniya-2 offers superior flight range and payload at a higher price.