Ukraine Deploys Heavy FP-2 Drones to Destroy Russian Tor Launchers in Donetsk Region

Operators from Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces struck two launchers of Russian Tor surface-to-air missile systems in the temporarily occupied part of the Donetsk region during a night operation on March 8, according to footage released by the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The strike was carried out using Ukrainian-made FP-2 attack drones equipped with warheads weighing up to 105 kilograms. According to the published video, the Russian air defense systems were hit while moving to new positions, a moment when such equipment is typically more vulnerable.

The released footage also includes previously recorded strikes on other Russian air defense assets, including the Pantsir-S1 gun-missile system, a Tor-M1 launcher, and a Kasta radar station.

The Tor system is a self-propelled short-range air defense platform capable of operating autonomously. It can detect and engage aerial targets at distances of up to 16 kilometers and altitudes of up to 10 kilometers. In combat conditions, the system has been used to intercept guided rockets from HIMARS and even ATACMS ballistic missiles, Militarnyi wrote.

Each launcher carries up to 16 surface-to-air missiles stored inside a rotating launch module, with a crew of three operating the vehicle.

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian air defense systems throughout the war, but the Tor’s design, with missiles protected inside the armored hull, has often allowed it to survive strikes by drones with smaller warheads.

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Because of this, Ukrainian units have increasingly used heavier FP-2 drones with larger explosive payloads, which are capable of reliably destroying air defense systems rather than merely damaging them, according to Militarnyi.

The destruction of these two Tor systems follows a massive, coordinated assault by Ukrainian drone operators earlier in the week. The Unmanned Systems Forces used the same heavy FP-2 strike drones to wipe out four self-propelled components of Russia’s air defense network in the temporarily occupied southern Ukrainian territories.

Using 100-kilogram payloads, Ukrainian operators tore through Buk, S-300V, Pantsir-S1, and Tor systems, proving that even Russia’s thickest armor can’t protect its high-value targets from these heavier drones.

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