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Ukraine’s 700 km/h BARS Jet Drone Enters Production in Europe With 1,000-km Range
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
A European joint venture has been established to manufacture Ukraine’s BARS jet-powered drone, with production beginning in early September and the first systems expected to reach Ukraine’s Defense Forces starting October 10, the drone’s developer told RBC-Ukraine on September 7.
The move gives the Ukrainian-designed system a production base outside the country as its developers work to scale output and expand the BARS family for missions ranging from frontline operations to long-range strikes.
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“With a move to official and transparent exports, we see opportunities only to increase and expand production capacity,” the developer said.
The main obstacle to faster production is no longer the airframe itself but the availability of turbojet engines, with delivery lead times currently limiting how quickly additional BARS drones can be manufactured.
Meanwhile, the platform continues to evolve rapidly.
🦅🚀 Probably BARS drone-missile over Moscow region! pic.twitter.com/Q0w9zf0Lcd
— MAKS 26 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) May 17, 2026
The newest BARS configuration can reportedly fly up to 1,000 kilometers, or roughly 620 miles, while carrying a warhead weighing as much as 60 kilograms. Earlier versions were rated for approximately 700 kilometers of range with a 22.5-kilogram payload.
The jet-powered drone can exceed 700 kilometers per hour, or about 435 mph.
BARS was designed from the outset as a modular platform rather than a single fixed configuration. Developers can alter the balance between fuel capacity and payload depending on the mission, allowing the same basic architecture to serve at different ranges.
The system is divided into three principal mission categories: DeepStrike, MiddleStrike, and FrontStrike.
🚀🇺🇦 The Bars missile-drone is a mass-produced product that Ukraine can already launch hundreds of them per day at Russia, — DE sources
— MAKS 26 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) December 19, 2025
There is no clear data on the characteristics, except for the range of 700-800 km, as well as the understanding that the Bars warhead is most… pic.twitter.com/8tBb04b3fu
A longer-range configuration can dedicate more internal volume to fuel, while shorter-range versions can trade that endurance for a heavier payload.
That flexibility has been refined continuously. According to the developer, BARS has already undergone more than 40 upgrades and design iterations since the original prototype.
Artificial intelligence is also being incorporated throughout the development process, from engineering work to terminal guidance.
“We use the tools that AI technologies provide us today, and we do not shy away from them at any level—from development and solving engineering problems to implementing machine vision in our target-guidance systems,” the developer said.
During the final stage of flight, the operator can choose to retain manual control or hand the engagement over to an optical terminal-guidance system.
Earlier, Ukraine and Germany signed an implementation agreement to jointly produce Ukrainian-designed BARS jet-powered strike drones, with Germany financing the initial production phase and all completed systems destined for Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
The agreement was signed on July 8 by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara as part of the “Build with Ukraine ” initiative, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry and statements published by Sybiha.
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-0a1370bb264bffe9d20fe9221e6e65d7.jpg "LORA ballistic missile launched from a German Navy warship during a live-fire test in the North Atlantic. (Source: NATO)")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")