Ukrainian FPV with onboard grenade launcher makes its first confirmed kill (video)

The Bulava unmanned systems unit of Ukraine’s 3rd Mechanized Battalion, part of the Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Independent Presidential Brigade, has for the first time used an FPV drone equipped with a grenade launcher to eliminate a Russian infantryman in combat. Militarnyi reports that this marks a historic moment in Ukrainian drone warfare.

According to the report, the heavy drone—called Queen [of] Hornets, a large 15-inch FPV platform—was fitted with a single-use handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, the Bulspike-AP. The footage of the drone’s direct hit was released by the Bulava unit and confirms that the strike successfully killed a Russian soldier.

The original report does not mention the exact date and location.

The drone, developed by Ukrainian firm Wild Hornets, is designed as a low-cost heavy FPV bomber. It can carry up to 9.5 kg over short distances or lighter loads over distances up to 17 km. In its current configuration, the Queen of Hornets is intended to support urban combat, assist assaults, and finish off damaged equipment.

The Bulava unit had first tested this grenade-firing system in September 2024. However, the concept had been under discussion in the unit for over a year before that. A fighter from the unit, call sign Udav (“Boa”), explained the challenge:

“We had agricultural drones before, but setting the right angle is tricky. Even if you’re a top pilot, the risk of losing the drone is high, and it’s an expensive story. Then the Queen [of] Hornets appeared, opening up a lot of possibilities.”

Militarnyi notes that the troal footage showed that the drone was armed with a Bulgarian-made Bulspike-AP grenade launcher firing OG-22M fragmentation-explosive grenades. These 2-kg grenades are designed for hitting enemy personnel, fortifications, and lightly armored vehicles. When detonated, they release over 1,000 fragments and have a direct fire range of about 100 meters.

In previously recorded trials, the Queen of Hornets drone was also used as a platform for Kalashnikov rifles. However, such weaponized drone use had not yet become widespread.