Ukraine is droning on

A review of Ukraine's new missile projects

Picture: Office of the President of Ukraine

Ending the year with a missile bang. In recent weeks, Ukraine has announced several previously undisclosed missile projects. Combined with the missile systems already known to be in Ukraine's arsenal and the projects previously known to be under development, this provides decent insights into the missile arsenal Ukraine is planning to deploy in the future.

This post reviews Ukraine's ongoing missile projects. Please note that this analysis is based entirely on publicly available information, meaning classified capability profiles may differ.

Ukraine’s new missile programs

Ruta

The Ruta is a cruise missile project with a reported range of 300 km and a top speed of 800 km/h (Mach 0.65). Digital renderings and models displayed at industry events show an air inlet, suggesting that the missile uses an air-breathing engine, likely a turbojet. It is reported to support various 30–100 kg payloads, including reconnaissance payloads, conventional warheads, and inert payloads for testing purposes. The missile employs inertial and GPS guidance for midcourse navigation but has not been announced to include terminal guidance, although this capability could be added in the future.

The Ruta is currently undergoing testing and is not yet operationally deployed.

Picture: Destinus

Pekklo

The Pekklo appears to be a new type of mini cruise missile in Ukraine’s arsenal. The system reportedly has a range of 700 km and a top speed of 700 km/h (Mach 0.57). Like the Ruta, the Pekklo does not currently appear to feature terminal guidance but is equipped with an air-breathing engine, which is top-mounted rather than integrated into the fuselage. The missile carries a conventional payload of unknown size, with no additional payload types reported at this time.

The missile is said to be in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and has already been successfully deployed.

Picture: Office of the President of Ukraine

Palianytsia

According to official Ukrainian sources, the Palianytsia is described as a “long-range rocket drone.” It reportedly has a range of up to 700 km and a top speed of 500 km/h (Mach 0.4). The drone is said to carry a conventional payload of 9–20 kg and is manufactured entirely within Ukraine. It also features larger aerodynamic surface areas compared to the previously described missiles.

Ukrainian sources claim that the Palianytsia is turbojet-powered, which contradicts the designation of it being a “rocket drone,” as turbojets are air-breathing engines that do not rely on rocket propulsion. Video imagery of the drone has also surfaced that clearly shows air inlets and a jet engine. This means that calling it a "rocket drone" is technically a misnomer, though this term may have arisen from translation errors.

Ukrainian sources have stated that the Palianytsia has entered serial production and has reportedly been used in combat.

Picture: Screenshot from United24

Lord

The Lord is a propeller-driven long-range drone with a reported range of 750–2,000 km and an estimated speed of 150–300 km/h. It is said to carry a 22 kg payload, which can include conventional warheads as well as functional equipment (e.g., for reconnaissance or transport). Digital renderings suggest the drone is an optimized version of the improvised converted two-seater airplane drones that Ukraine has previously used in strikes deep inside Russia.

It is unclear whether the Lord drone has been deployed in combat. Russian reports claim a wreckage of the drone has been found, though images of the alleged wreckage do not resemble the box-like design shown in digital renderings. So I remain somewhat cautious.

Picture: Destinus

Drones or missiles?

Before looking at the strategic implications of these missile programs, it’s worth quickly deliberating whether Ukraine’s new missile projects constitute drones or missiles, given that this has been a rather hotly debated question in recent weeks.

First, this debate is arguably misguided, as long-range one-way-attack drones are essentially a type of missile projectile. At its core, the term “missile” refers to a single-use, airborne, self-propelled, unmanned weapon system designed to travel a specified distance and neutralize a target, usually through kinetic effects. This definition encompasses various systems, including ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and long-range drones.

A more relevant question might be whether Ukraine’s new missile projects should be classified as long-range drones or cruise missiles. This is a more nuanced distinction, as the boundaries between these two categories are not clearly defined, and overlap exists.

Compared to cruise missiles, long-range drones are generally slower, carry smaller payloads, and have wider shapes (due to the need for more aerodynamic surface area to sustain flight). They are also typically less sophisticated, often lacking advanced stealth features, terminal guidance systems, or electronic warfare countermeasures, which also makes them cheaper to produce.

These characteristics offer a more useful framework for classification than arbitrary criteria like range thresholds, the availability of command guidance (i.e., remote control), or specific propulsion systems, which can apply to either cruise missiles or long-range drones.

In my view, the Ruta and Peklo align more closely with the characteristics of cruise missiles, while the Palianytsia and Lord are better described as long-range drones. However, at the end of the day, the classification isn’t what matters—if it works, it works.

Strategic implications

Any long-range strike weapon that enables Ukraine to target deep behind the frontline and into Russia to support its critically important strategic interdiction campaign is a significant advantage. In this context, it is particularly notable that Ukraine appears confident in its ability to scale missile and drone production to a substantial level and fast.

Interestingly, if the capability profiles outlined above are accurate and Ukraine succeeds in producing these cruise missile and drone systems in large numbers, it will acquire a type of missile capability that the United States currently envisions for its arsenal but has yet to develop: large quantities of relatively inexpensive yet capable small cruise missiles and drones.

By contrast, Ukraine does not seem to prioritize (or capable of advancing) the development of “heavy” missiles, such as a Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG-like land-attack cruise missile (LACM) or a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) capable of carrying significantly larger payloads. While such projects (e.g., the Korshun LACM and the Sapsan SRBM) exist in Ukraine, reports over the past few years indicate that Ukraine has struggled to complete their development and scale production.

Ukraine’s new missiles and drones, if produced in substantial numbers, pose a serious challenge for Russia, as even with their smaller payloads they are more than sufficient to threaten softer targets, particularly critical industrial and economic infrastructure. However, Ukraine will remain reliant on its Western partners for the delivery of heavy cruise missiles to target hardened and buried structures deep behind the frontline effectively, as well as for the delivery of ATACMS armed with cluster ammunition warheads to achieve area effects against targets at operational and partially strategic depth.