Russian forces have modified their Orlan reconnaissance drones to carry FPV drones. The 118th Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine discovered and shot down one such drone. The military shared a screenshot on their Facebook page captured by a Ukrainian intercept drone just before the enemy drone was destroyed. The Russian “mothership” drone carried two FPV drones on an attack mission.
The brigade stated: “The Ukrainian defenders of the 118th Mechanized Brigade destroyed a Russian Orlan mothership drone, which was carrying two FPV drones under its wings.” According to defenders, this was the first successful interception of this type of Russian-modified Orlan drone.
(Modified Russian Orlan drone. August 2025. Photo courtesy: Ukrainian 118th Mechanized Brigade)
The 118th Mechanized Brigade reported: “So far, pilots of the intercept units have shot down dozens of enemy reconnaissance drones — including Orlan, Zala, and Supercam — but this marks their first successful destruction of a ‘mothership’ drone.” Mothership drones are typically used to transport and deploy small attack drones deep behind enemy lines.
