Scythe attack drone - Ukraine’s answer to Russia’s Shaheds

 The drone’s body is made of milled sheets of plywood from a network of furniture factories, which the makers say is more scalable for mass production than 3D printing or using materials such as fiberglass. It is designed to be produced without skilled labor so that volume can be easily ramped up without lengthy technical training.

 

The Scythe has a range of around 750-900 km, depending on the engine option; Serra-Martins says they can use a variety of engines derived from commercial designs, some made in Ukraine and others imported. This is enough to put a huge swathe of Russia within range, plus all of occupied Crimea. The Scythe has a cruising speed of around 140 kph / 85 mph – similar to the Shahed, with a maximum terminal speed of 200 kph / 125 mph.

 

 

The Scythe carries a 42-kilo warhead, again similar to the Shahed. Francisco Serra-Martins says a standard payload is a Ukrainian mass-manufactured high thermobaric warhead or a pair of 122mm artillery rounds that spray shrapnel over a wide area. Still, there are other options for specific targets.

Both sides have made extensive use of radio-frequency jamming to block the use of GPS and other satellite navigation systems. Shaheds have often managed to find their targets, though, with a combination of jam-resistant antennas and inertial navigation. The Scythe can take a similar approach using a laser altimeter from Lightware to fly at a very low level – around 30 meters/100 feet. Jamming is only effective over line-of-sight, so low-flying drones are difficult to jam and are only affected when they are very close to the jammer.

But the preferred mode now is to come from high-altitude.

“We have moved to fly at 3000m [10,000 feet], so any air defense missiles that shoot down cost more than the system,” says Serra-Martins. “Only on terminal dive will it approach at a lower altitude. The altimeter is used for airbursting and avoiding terrain.”

Scythe can navigate in this mode with a visual positioning system using roads and other visible landmarks, so radio jamming has no effect.

As an optional extra, Scythe can also have a video link to the operator, turning it into a giant FPV kamikaze, able to pick out and attack moving targets with high precision. This is only possible within radio range though and adds to the cost, so most Scythes will attack pre-programmed coordinates: command centers, fuel and ammunition dumps, air defense installations, airfields, and other high-value targets.

A Drone For Mass Attack

The Scythe is a modular, flexible system with payload bays that can be easily modified for different missions. It can take off under its own power along a runway or a road, or it can take off (like the Shahed) with a rocket booster where these is no flat surface — or from a ship. It can also be launched from a small catapult.

As Serra-Martins notes, mass is the key, and the drones are only effective in large numbers. Slow-moving drones are relatively easy targets, but the Shaheds have inflicted so much damage on Ukraine because although 80% or more are shot down, many get through. A sufficiently large package of drones will overwhelm defenses, and over the long term, attacks will exhaust supplies of surface-air missiles.

The basic Scythe airframe costs around $15k; this rises to around $30k with guidance and other extras. (Prices of $20k-$50k are quoted for the Shahed-136). Serra-Martins says that the overall cost can be reduced with leader-follower swarms: a lead drone with sophisticated guidance is accompanied by nine low-cost, basic drones that follow its lead to the target area. These can saturate defenses at a lower cost than using the sophisticated version.

Russia has started its winter assault on Ukraine's power grid for the second year running. The effects will depend largely on just how many Shaheds Russia can produce or import. It remains to be seen exactly what targets Ukraine will attack with its new arsenal of Scythes, but again the effects will depend heavily on just how many they can turn out.