BBC: The new "Hell" drone is more akin to cruise missiles than to traditional drones.

As previously reported, on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky handed over the first batch of new Ukrainian drone-missiles, or rocket drones, known as "Peklo," to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian BBC service, there was no prior information available about this development.

Minister for Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin stated that the missile-drone was developed "from scratch" over the course of a year, and this product "has already seen successful combat applications." Smetanin added that the drone flies at a speed of 700 km/h over a distance of up to 700 km.

According to correspondents from the Ukrainian BBC service, in the videos and photos of the "Peklo" drone released to the press, it can be observed that there are mounts on the upper part of the fuselage. This could indicate that the drone is launched not from the ground, but from aerial platforms, likely from frontline bombers or fighters.

If this is indeed the case, then Ukrainian developers have demonstrated a fundamentally new approach to launching UAVs in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

For instance, the Ukrainian long-range drone "Lyuty" is launched by accelerating on a runway, while modified Soviet Tu-141 ("Strizh") aircraft are launched from a special powerful launch system.

Thus, it can be asserted that the "Peklo" missile-drone is closer to cruise missiles than to drones, as noted by the publication.

Additionally, it bears a resemblance to precision Western glide bombs, such as the French AASM (HAMMER), which also features a rocket booster and navigation system.

However, the declared range of the Ukrainian "Peklo" drone is ten times greater. It is possible that this is related to the significantly smaller warhead. Ukraine does not disclose the type of warhead installed in these missile-drones.

On the fuselage at the tail end of the "Peklo" drone, a mounted turbojet engine can be seen, while a speed sensor is located at the front.

Overall, this drone appears very similar to the rocket drone "Palyanitsa," which was presented at the end of August. Its range was also stated to be around 600-700 km, but it did not have an external engine.

Background: As reported, today Zelensky transferred the first batch of "Peklo" missile-drones to the Defense Forces and noted that there have already been five successful applications of it.