Captured Ukrainian Baba Yagas Are Becoming Russia’s Drone Of Choice
Over the course of the war, Ukraine's heavy bomber drones have become so feared for their devastating nighttime attacks that Russian soldiers nicknamed them "Baba Yaga," after the Slavic witch said to terrorise victims in the dark. These large multirotor aircraft can carry payloads of roughly 15 kilograms over distances of up to 20 kilometres and are equipped with infrared cameras for night operations. Ukraine has used them extensively to drop munitions on Russian vehicles and positions, and to run resupply missions.
Russia, meanwhile, has struggled to field a comparable platform. To fill the gap, it now appears to be capturing, repairing and repurposing large numbers of Ukrainian Baba Yaga drones for its own forces.
Why heavy multirotors are hard
Developing a heavy multirotor drone is significantly more challenging than producing the smaller quadcopters common on the battlefield. These systems must generate enough lift to carry heavy payloads while maintaining stability, range and endurance under combat conditions. The added payload weight creates flight-control problems by shifting the drone's centre of gravity and increasing vibration during manoeuvring and weapons release.
Designers must also balance structural strength against weight, since heavier frames cut payload capacity, range and flight time. Heavy drones consume large amounts of energy and remain constrained by current battery technology, and they need resilient communications links and robust navigation to operate in contested electronic warfare environments.
Russian companies and military organisations have introduced multiple Baba Yaga analogues, including the Alexander Nevsky heavy hexacopter and the MiS-150 platform. But most reporting on these systems comes from demonstrations and prototype testing, with little evidence they have reached operational units. Some Russian reporting suggests the difficulty of producing them has contributed directly to the practice of repurposing captured Ukrainian aircraft.
How Ukraine got there first
Ukraine's success with the Baba Yaga stems from its defence industrial base's ability to leverage commercial technology. Ukrainian engineers adapted commercial platforms for military use, enabling rapid development and decentralised production outside traditional defence procurement channels. Heavy bomber drones such as the Aerorozvidka R18 and the Vampire heavy hexacopter were introduced in 2022 and have since been used for a wide array of missions. With thermal cameras integrated, they have become a crucial element of Ukraine's defence.
Downed, not destroyed
While Ukraine fields a large fleet of heavy bomber drones, Russia's fleet is growing through capture, repair and reuse. Many Baba Yagas are brought down through electronic warfare, a longstanding Russian strength. The aircraft repeatedly fly similar routes and rely on persistent radio-frequency links, which lets Russian electronic warfare systems map and exploit those signals until the drone loses control and crashes.
Others are shot down kinetically. Heavy multirotors are larger and slower than small FPV drones, making them easier targets for small arms fire, and Russian forces have deployed specialist sniper teams against them. Because these aircraft depend on exposed rotor arms for stability, damage to a single rotor, motor or arm can bring the whole system down while leaving most of it intact.
An organised repair ecosystem
The growing number of recoverable drones has led Russia to build a repair ecosystem around captured Baba Yaga platforms. Russian soldiers and volunteer organisations reportedly maintain workshops dedicated to restoring damaged aircraft and modifying them for Russian operations.
Some groups have developed catalogues of 3D-printable replacement parts for rotor mounts, airframes and payload release mechanisms, allowing damaged systems to be repaired quickly and cheaply. Captured drones can also be fitted with new radios, navigation modules and control systems compatible with Russian communications networks.