MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russian special operations forces operating in the Svatovo-Kremennaya area have begun employing the latest Upyr (Vampire) FPV (first person view) drones in the special military operation in Ukraine, a spokesman for the drone’s manufacturer told TASS on Wednesday.

Earlier, Upyr drones were employed in the Donetsk area and in the Graivoronsky district of the Belgorod Region bordering Ukraine, which helped pull back equipment five km in depth and in Kherson where these unmanned aerial vehicles reduced the intensity of the Ukrainian army’s attempts to cross the Dnieper River by boats.

"As the military say, our drone has already had time to prove its worth in heavy fighting. An Upyr team operating under enemy fire wiped out Ukrainian forces sheltered in strongholds. Despite the complex wooded area and terrain height differences, the drone’s maneuverability helps strike enemy dugouts and other targets," the spokesman said.

Russian commandos have managed to adapt to wooded terrain, he said.

"They use it as natural camouflage, which helps approach targets at lower altitudes and at a slower speed and strike dugouts literally through the front door," he said.

The Upyr FPV drone was engineered in the Sverdlovsk Region in the Urals and is designed to strike enemy targets in the front’s depth and wipe out armor at sheltered positions. The drone can carry grenades for RPG-7 grenade launchers, such as PG-7VL rockets, RKG-3M anti-tank hand grenades, and also high-explosive fragmentation shells made by the military directly on the battlefield.

A team of engineers has created an aerial rebroadcasting transmitter that has doubled the Upyr drone’s operational range.