Vampires and Kazhans at work: how the 82nd Brigade uses heavy bomber drones

The “Fakhivtsi” unit of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade uses heavy drone bombers on a daily basis. In a single night, the crews carry out between 10 and 16 sorties, performing tasks such as mine-laying, logistics, and ammunition drops. A report on the operators’ work was published by “Military Television of Ukraine”.

The Vampire, Kazhan and Heavy Shot bombers used by the brigade are manually controlled during missions and require two operators. Unlike FPV drones, they are more resistant to electronic warfare and are less likely to be lost. The main challenge lies in precise targeting without navigation.

According to Chief Sergeant of the heavy drone company Raf, the greatest advantage of heavy bombers is their versatility and the ability to return after completing a mission. This enables operators to assess the results of the strike on the spot. The brigade has set a record: a drone carried and successfully dropped ammunition weighing up to 13 kg. The largest number of enemy personnel affected in a single sortie was 11 Russian soldiers on the Zaporizhia front.

To maintain the drones, the unit has equipped a mobile workshop in a specialised bunker with a refrigerator and air conditioning. This allows repairs and soldering to be carried out even under field conditions.

The heavy drone Vampire is a development of the Ukrainian company SkyFall. It was codified in spring 2025. This hexacopter can carry a payload of up to 15 kg over a distance of up to 20 km. Thanks to its high resistance to electronic warfare, GNSS antenna, and bispectral camera, Vampire is able to perform missions both during the day and at night. In addition, it features a self-return mode in the event of communication loss, which significantly reduces the risk of losing the drone.

Previously, Defender Media reported that in July, using the heavy drone Heavy Shot, the Ukrainian military delivered a bicycle to a wounded soldier, assisting his evacuation.