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Russia’s latest recon drones successfully employed in Ukraine operation — source

It is reported that these drones are used by reconnaissance units of the Russian ground forces

TASS: December 5. Russian troops are successfully employing state-of-the-art Takhion (Tachyon) reconnaissance drones in the special military operation in Ukraine to ferret out the enemy’s hidden positions, a source in domestic defense circles told TASS on Monday.

"Russian troops are using Takhion drones to carry out air reconnaissance of Ukrainian army positions. The drones are outfitted with a thermal imager, photo and video cameras to uncover even heavily camouflaged enemy sites, including at night," the source said, emphasizing the drones’ reliability.

These drones are used by reconnaissance units of the Russian ground forces, the source said, while remaining tight-lipped as to where Takhion UAVs had operated and continued operating successfully, according to his data.

TASS has no official confirmation of this information yet. There were previously no official reports about the use of Takhion drones in the special military operation in Ukraine.

Takhion drone

The Takhion mini-drone, engineered by Izhmash-Unmanned Systems, is based on a ‘flying wing’ aerodynamic structure. The drone is designed to conduct air reconnaissance day and night. It can be used effectively for aerial photography and video surveying of terrain and also as a communications signal re-transmitter. Takhion drones began arriving for Russian troops in 2015.

The drone’s wingspan measures about 2 meters, with a take-off weight of about 7 kg and can climb to 4,000 meters. It has a flight endurance of 2 hours, can accelerate to 100 km/h and operate within a range of about 40 km.

The Takhion can be employed in Arctic conditions weathering temperatures of minus 30 to plus 40 degrees Celsius. It can operate in severe weather conditions, with wind gusts of up to 15 m/s. The drone is equipped with an electric motor, is catapult-launched and automatically parachutes down.