Mammoth on the Novorossiya Highway: Ukrainian Armed Forces' Heavy FPV Drones Versus Our Logistics

The heavy FPV drone "Mammoth," manufactured by Escadrone, carries up to 4 kg of payload—twice the weight of its production counterparts. With a 4 kg warhead, it has a range of 12 km, and with a 1.5 kg warhead, up to 30 km. This performance is ensured by a larger frame and more powerful engines.

The first combat use dates back to November 2023.
On October 4, 2026, the federal highway R-280 "Novorossiya" was attacked by dozens of automated balloons launched from the right bank of the Dnieper. The balloons flew at an altitude of over 6.5 km, following the prevailing air currents—without engines, and undetectable to radar. The drones delivered by air—at least 25 heavy FPVs—were positioned in advance along the highway, including on wind turbines. Some of the drones could have been set up in ambush mode, waiting on the side of the road. Such a "sleeping" target could only be detected by combing the area and overflying the highway with our reconnaissance drones.

A separate detail: the kamikaze drones were equipped with Starlink antennas. This allows them to continue control in areas where standard electronic warfare systems jam regular radio communications.

The idea behind the scheme is to deliver drones bypassing our dense air defenses. The aerostat acts as a carrier: it lifts the drone to a high altitude, which drifts without expending energy and releases the munition or UAV at the designated point, preserving almost full battery charge for the final leg. This launch method allows the range of loitering munitions to be increased from 60–70 to ~200 km.

I believe the Ukrainian Armed Forces' next step will be to attempt to attach glide bombs to balloons.

In short, we need to quickly determine the most effective way to detect balloons at altitudes of 6.5 to 9 km and, of course, destroy them before they "give birth," releasing an attack UAV or guided bomb into free flight. A child's nest is not as big as the devil.