Ukraine is combat-testing a reconnaissance drone built to fly deep behind Russian lines and cheap enough to risk losing. The fixed-wing aircraft, called Sweetheart, has a range of up to 150 kilometers and three hours of endurance, and its developers plan serial production once testing ends, the Ukrainian defense company General Chereshnia announced.
The pitch is not the specifications but the price. General Chereshnia says the Sweetheart costs six to 10 times less than comparable fixed-wing systems, cheap enough that a unit can send it on a one-way mission when the target justifies it. That fits a broader trend toward expendable systems, the same firm pursued when it unveiled a low-cost strike drone in April.
Drone flies deep and quiet
Sweetheart weighs four kilograms and has a 1.7-meter wingspan, light enough for one soldier to carry and throw by hand, without a catapult or ground equipment, the company says. It works at altitudes up to 900 meters and carries a digital video link, a steerable zoom camera, and a built-in laser rangefinder for measuring distance to targets. The developers say it goes acoustically silent within 50 meters of takeoff.
Jamming resistance anchors the pitch
The datalink is built to withstand electronic warfare that severs most other drones, the company says.
Jamming has degraded or destroyed more Ukrainian drone missions than any other single factor, which makes an EW-resistant recon platform valuable if the claim survives the front. The figures come from the manufacturer and have not been independently verified, and combat testing is still underway, with serial deliveries expected in fall 2026.
Earlier, General Chereshnia advanced in the Pentagon's $1.1 billion drone competition. It is one of numerous firms selected for the second round of the US Drone Dominance Program.
This is a Pentagon initiative seeking producers of inexpensive, scalable strike drones for the US Army amid the war against Iran.
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