New Ukraine’s Zhuk Kamikaze Drone Achieves 67 km Strike Despite Intense Jamming

Ukraine’s Atarna has unveiled a new fixed-wing loitering munition dubbed “Zhuk,” demonstrated at Brave1 public trials and designed to hit targets at distances exceeding 40 kilometers. Militarnyi on October 6 first reported the debut following the showcase, noting the system’s field-portable setup and emphasis on electronic-warfare resilience.

According to coverage of the Brave1 test campaign, Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said: “We completed final tests of loitering munitions with a strike range of more than 40 kilometers,” adding that with Brave1’s support and frontline feedback, “manufacturers were able to develop highly effective technologies that will soon be deployed on the front line.”

Details published by dev.ua indicate Zhuk is a catapult-launched, fixed-wing strike drone with modular warheads—including fragmentation and shaped-charge options—and a warhead mass of roughly 1.8–2 kg for engaging light armor, electronic-warfare assets, and logistics targets.

The airframe can operate with a relay UAV to extend control and datalink range; during trials the pairing achieved a recorded strike at 67 km, underscoring performance in contested radio conditions.

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The Brave1 platform has framed these 40+ km systems as affordable, scalable additions to Ukraine’s deep-fire toolkit amid heavy jamming on the battlefield. “These 40+ km suicide drones represent a new level of strike capability against targets far beyond the front… Combat trials are next, and we are accelerating their introduction to the battlefield,” Brave1 said..

The Zhuk joins a wider pipeline of long-range loitering munitions emerging from the Brave1 ecosystem this year, which Ukrainian outlets say are being tuned to survive and navigate through Russian electronic warfare. The stated goal is rapid combat testing and scale-up for frontline units as Ukraine expands domestic drone production and diversifies strike options.

Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian developers demonstrated multiple new fixed-wing loitering munitions at a Brave1 showcase capable of striking targets at ranges beyond 40 kilometres.

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