Russia has adopted tactics used by Ukrainian heavy bombers by developing its own heavy bomber drone, the Mangas.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the new Mangas drone is already being used in the war against Ukraine, Militarnyi reported.
In particular, it is being used by Russian servicemen from the 11th Army Corps of the Sever group.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the drone is most often deployed at night thanks to its thermal imaging camera.
The unmanned aerial vehicle was developed by the Baikal Tactical Group from Ulan-Ude in collaboration with the company Kurier.
The start of its production was announced in September 2025.
The Mangas performs missions to support frontline units and is also used as a tactical unmanned bomber.
The Mangas hexacopter is the Russian developers’ response to the Ukrainian VAMPIRE drone, which is known in Russia as Baba Yaga.
Previously, Russia’s inability to independently produce heavy bomber drones led to the emergence of a network for repairing captured and downed Ukrainian VAMPIRE drones.
The Mangas is built using a multirotor design with six arms, each equipped with propellers. Overall, it features the classic layout architecture typical of aircraft in this class.
The drone is powered by a rechargeable battery and equipped with an autopilot system, as well as protection against electronic warfare (EW) measures.
It is reported that the maximum flight range with a minimum payload is up to 50 km.
