AFU Shot Down Russian Experimental Drone Merlin-VR

The Russian army did not have time to take it into service.

An air defence unit shot down the drone with a hybrid engine, which was supposed to ensure silent operation while carrying out combat missions.

The Ukrainian military shot down the experimental Merlin-BP reconnaissance drone, which was only shown to the public nine months ago. It is reported by volunteer and blogger Pavlo Kashchuk on Facebook.

According to the volunteer, the drone with a hybrid engine was shot down by anti-aircraft defence forces. According to the developers' idea, the propulsion system was to ensure the silent operation of the UAV during combat missions.

"Congratulations to the Ukrainian air defence force on destroying the latest Pro-Putin 'stealth' Merlin-BP aircraft. And this is no joke," Kashchuk wrote.

The drone was developed by the Smolensk-based Modern Telecommunication Technologies plant. It was described as a unique development with a hybrid engine. It was supposed to reduce drone noise while maintaining a high flight range. Declared characteristics of the UAV:

flight time - 10 hours

flying altitude - 5 km

payload - 6.5 kg

According to Defense Express, the Russian Federation had to solve the issue of testing, not to mention the serial production and acceptance into the military service. The use of experimental UAVs may indicate the lack of standard reconnaissance means or impossibility to use them because of the AFU. Otherwise, it is difficult to find an explanation for using an experimental drone.