Ukraine Intel exposes Russia’s AI-powered Klin drone with 300 km/h speed PHOTO

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has released details and a 3D model of what it says is a new Russian AI-enabled loitering munition, the Klin drone, capable of reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h and assembled using a range of foreign-made components.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) published the material on the War&Sanctions portal, saying the system is produced by Russian firm Roboavia and features a delta-wing design measuring 1.6 metres in length with a 1.9-metre wingspan.

According to DIU, the drone is powered by a Chinese-made Scorpion F-4225-500KV V2 brushless electric motor and dual 6S Li-AFB batteries, and relies on a mix of navigation and control systems sourced internationally, including an Australian Cube Orange flight controller and a Holybro F9P module with RTK capability.

DIU highlighted the drone’s autonomous targeting capability, saying: "The Klin's key feature is its machine vision system, which enables automatic target acquisition using an NVIDIA Jetson TX2 computer module (USA)."

The agency added that similar technology has already been identified in other Russian systems, including the Lancet and Geran-2 series.

It also said communication is handled via a LoRa modem using a Ra-01H radio module produced by Ai-Thinker in China, while other circuit board components originate from the United States, Switzerland, Taiwan and South Korea.

The Klin can carry a high-explosive or anti-tank warhead of up to 5 kg, DIU said, and features aerodynamic control surfaces designed to adjust its flight path during terminal approach.

"Another distinctive feature of this UAV is its advanced front control surface, which enables the approach to a target to be adjusted at different angles and speeds," the intelligence agency said.

DIU also cited Russian claims about different operational variants, stating: "The enemy also claims to have naval and ground-based variants. In the naval version, the remote detonation system is radar-based, whilst in the land-based version it is lidar-based."

The drone was first unveiled in Russia in October 2025 and was described at the time as incorporating artificial intelligence for target detection. Ukrainian officials said earlier that a Klin unit had been downed by a Ukrainian interceptor drone.

By Aghakazim Guliyev