British-Made Drones Are Now Striking Russian Oil Refineries, The Times Reports

Ukraine has been using British-made drones for long-range strikes inside Russia for the past six months, including attacks on oil refineries in Volgograd, Yaroslavl and near Moscow, according to The Times on August 16.

The operations mark the first reported sustained use of British-made drones for deep strikes inside Russia. The Times, citing sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reported that drones produced by two British companies have been involved.

Among them is the Nyan One Way Effector, a jet-powered attack drone developed by Callen-Lenz, part of BAE Systems’ FalconWorks division.

Former UK Director of Joint Warfare Air Marshal Greg Bagwell said targeting Russia’s energy sector could have a significant strategic impact because of Moscow’s reliance on oil revenues.

“Oil revenues are so important to the Russian economy that these attacks could have a much greater strategic effect than conventional missile strikes,” Bagwell told The Times.

A senior UK defense source also told the newspaper that the strikes reflected a shift in Britain’s approach to escalation concerns.

“Russia has been very effective at trying to keep the West nervous about hitting it too hard. These attacks mean Britain is effectively signaling to Russia and allies that we are no longer nervous,” the source said.

The Nyan is a carbon-fiber drone with a 2.9-meter wingspan and a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 75 kilograms. Launched from a pneumatic catapult and powered by a gas-turbine engine, it cruises at around 222 kilometers per hour, carries up to 20 kilograms and has a stated range exceeding 250 kilometers.

The system is also operated by the British Army. In June 2026, the Royal Navy tested a Nyan launch from the experimental vessel XV Patrick Blackett.

According to The Times, Ukraine is also using drones made by another British company whose identity was withheld for security reasons. The catapult-launched system reportedly has a range exceeding 950 kilometers.

Long-range drones can be manufactured and stockpiled relatively quickly and deployed in groups to complicate Russian air defenses. Such systems typically cost between £50,000 and £100,000 ($67,000-$135,000), according to the newspaper.

British-made drones had previously been used against Russian forces in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. In April, Ukrainian forces used a Malloy Aeronautics T-150 heavy drone in an operation that destroyed a bridge across the Konka River in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region.

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