With the DAN-M drone, the Russians have perfected a low-cost way to exhaust finite Ukrainian missile stocks—which, once depleted, clears pathways for more sophisticated Russian attacks.
In the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Russian DAN-M drone has emerged as a key player in modern drone warfare. Originally designed as a high-speed aerial target for air defense training, this jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been ingeniously repurposed into a kamikaze strike drone.
Mimicking advanced cruise missiles such as the US Tomahawk, the DAN-M highlights Russia’s adaptive strategies amid resource shortages. First deployed in combat in May 2025 against Ukrainian targets, the drones have since been used to bomb major Ukrainian cities, reshaping the dynamics of UAV attacks in the war.
Why Russia Turned Its Premier Training Drone Into a Missile
The DAN-M drone traces its roots to Soviet-era technology, with modern versions produced by Russia’s Sokol Design Bureau around the year 2020. Initially, it functioned as a training tool to simulate incoming threats for anti-aircraft systems, enabling cost-effective practice without live munitions. Its compact size—about one-tenth that of an American-made Tomahawk—made it perfect for this role.
Russia’s conversion of the DAN-M into an offensive weapon involves simple yet effective modifications: repainting the bright-red body for stealth, and adding a warhead with guidance systems for one-way strikes. Key DAN-M drone specifications include a turbojet, achieving speeds of up to 466 miles per hour and altitudes of roughly 30,000 feet. It has a flight endurance of around 25-40 minutes. Innovative launch methods—such as airdrops from Mi-8 helicopters at a great height—help to extend its range, allowing deeper penetration into Ukrainian territory.
Russia’s DAN-M drone made its combat debut targeting Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port city, from Crimea. By July 31, 2025, it also featured in a massive barrage on Kyiv, part of a record 550-drone assault wave earlier this month. This surge aligns with Russia’s ramped-up drone production—potentially reaching four million units this year alone!
Operating at speeds and altitudes often around 3 miles high, above the range of man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), the DAN-M forces Ukraine to use premium defenses like NASAMS or IRIS-T, thereby depleting Kyiv’s limited stockpiles of these complex, expensive Western air defense systems that should only be used for equally complex and expensive Russian threats—not cheap and expendable drones like the DAN-M.
In essence, the Russians have perfected with their DAN-M drone a low-cost way to exhaust finite Ukrainian missile stocks, which, once depleted, clears pathways for more sophisticated Russian attacks. This tactic echoes earlier conversions of Soviet Strizh drones in 2022, showing Russia’s deftness in repurposing legacy tech to punch well above their weight against supposedly sophisticated NATO-type weapons.
There are, of course, downsides to the DAN-M, as there are with any weapons platform. This drone lacks stealth, and its relatively short range—unless aided by helicopter launch—restricts deep strikes. In swarm attacks, such as the one that occurred on July 4 of this year, it remains highly lethal, but it is not invincible; on May 29, 2025, a DAN-M was downed over the Black Sea using a mobile system with R-73 missiles from Ukraine’s General Intelligence Directorate (GUR).
The Future of Drone Warfare: Lessons from the DAN-M
Yet for all those who claimed that Russia’s asymmetrical warfare doctrine—the so-called “Gerasimov Doctrine”—was dead, the DAN-M drone proves that Moscow remains firmly wedded to its concept of asymmetrical warfare. Indeed, this platform alone demonstrates how effective Russian asymmetrical warfare capabilities have been. As drone tech advances with swarms and artificial intelligence (AI), the DAN-M may signal a shift toward affordable, high-volume UAV strategies.
In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, innovation and speed will determine victory—especially if that speed and innovation outpaces whatever countermeasures the rival side is developing. Thus far, Russia’s advances in drone technology and asymmetrical warfare concepts are today outpacing Ukraine’s defensive capabilities. Whether this will change in 2025, and perhaps into 2026, remains to be seen.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock.
