Ukraine war becomes last mission for most expensive Russian drone

Ukraine forces have reportedly destroyed a $6 million Russian drone in a recent strike.

According to a Facebook post from the General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) on December 21, Ukrainian anti-air forces managed to destroy one of the invading country's $6 million Forpost drones amid a series of counterstrikes on the Russian position.

Newsweek has contacted the UAF for comment.

One of the country's most expensive reconnaissance tools, Forpost drones first came to prominence in the 1980s as the default remote surveillance craft of the Israeli army before its export to a number of foreign powers across Asia and Europe.

While typically unarmed, Russia has used armed versions of the drone in combat operations in the past, though the drones are now primarily used for surveilling enemy positions on the battlefield.

The weapons have also been deployed in Syria, while YouTube videos published by the Russian Ministry of Defense at the war's start depicted an armed version of the Forpost-R Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in use during the destruction of a multiple launch rocket system operated by the Ukrainian army.

The successful strike on December 21 represents at least the third confirmed downing of a Russian-operated Forpost drone since the war's start, adding onto successful strikes in early July and early May.

Just last week, Ukrainian officials claimed to have destroyed 13 explosive-laden drones in a thwarted Russian assault on Kyiv, padding the nearly 150 documented unmanned aircraft losses Russia has experienced since the war's start, per the open source website Oryx.