Russian Forces Reveal How They Counter Hornet Drones
Russian troops say they have suppressed and forced down Ukraine’s Hornet drones, a fixed-wing UAV with a range of up to 150 kilometers and countermeasures.
Russian units have developed methods to counter Ukraine’s new Hornet drones, according to a UAV systems company commander from the 123rd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Yug Group of Forces, who uses the call sign Legion.
He said Russian troops had already managed to suppress the aircraft and force them to land. According to the commander, the Hornet is a versatile drone with an operating range of up to 150 kilometers, but it has already been studied and measures against it are expected to intensify.
Legion also said the Hornet does not give the Ukrainian Armed Forces a decisive advantage on the battlefield. In his assessment, isolated cases of successful use cannot alter the broader course of the special military operation or prevent Russian forces from carrying out their assigned objectives.
Media reports about Ukraine’s use of a new type of drone against targets in the Russian rear began appearing in spring 2026.
The Hornet, nicknamed Marsianin-2 by Russian troops, is neither a quadcopter nor a lightweight FPV drone. It is a fixed-wing strike UAV that combines civilian aeromodelling technology with artificial intelligence algorithms. The aircraft builds up speed, approaches its target in fixed-wing flight and attacks from above.
The drones are produced by the US company Swift Beat LLC, which supplies unmanned systems to Ukraine. Last year, Vladimir Zelensky said Kiev expected to receive hundreds of thousands of drones under an agreement with the company.