UJ-25 Skyline

The UJ-25 Skyline is a jet-powered loitering munition in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Design

The UJ-25 is a weaponized version of the Ukrjet UJ-23 Topaz target drone. Both aircraft have missile-like main bodies, forward-swept wings, V-tail configurations, and top-mounted air intakes at the rear of the fuselage feeding into a turbojet engine; the UJ-25 differs outwardly only by having forward canards. Although the Skyline's specifications are not known, the Topaz has a cruise speed of 600 km/h (370 mph), a top speed of 800 km/h (500 mph), endurance of 90 minutes, and a mission radius of 400 km (250 mi) with a payload weight of 10 kg (22 lb) and is guided either by manual control link or by following a preprogrammed route. As a one-way kamikaze drone, the UJ-25 could have a strike range of around 800 km (500 mi), long enough to reach Moscow. Its jet propulsion makes it harder to counter than piston engine Shahed-136 drones used by Russia, as its faster speed combined with relatively small size and low-observable characteristics reduces the reaction time for air defenses to attempt to intercept it.

History

The UJ-25 was first shown publicly in September 2023 in the background of a CNN interview about drone warfare during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Its first known combat use was on 22 December 2023 when one crashed into the roof of a house and failed to detonate in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Berdyansk in eastern Zaporozhye Oblast.

See also

• Trembita (cruise missile)
• AQ-400 Scythe
• Shahed-238