Ukrainian forces recently shot down a Russian “Forpost” reconnaissance and strike drone, according to a video released by the commander of Ukraine’s 414th Separate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Brigade.
In a Telegram post, the brigade said that the operation was carried out by a first-person-view (FPV) drone operated by the “Topota PM” unit. This marks the first confirmed instance of an FPV drone intercepting a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV.
In the footage, the Ukrainian drone can be seen striking the tail boom of the Forpost, which was flying at an altitude of around 4,000 meters (13,000 feet), bringing it down mid-flight.
For the first time, a Ukrainian FPV interceptor has downed a Russian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone.
Seen here, a Ukrainian FPV drone from the Birds of Magyar unit slams into the tail boom of a Russian Forpost-R operating at an altitude of 4 km (13,000 feet). pic.twitter.com/3ZF6UNvhbG
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 21, 2025
The Forpost is a Russian-made variant of Israel’s IAI Searcher Mk II, with an estimated cost of around $7 million. Designed for both surveillance and precision strike missions, it can be armed with guided munitions, including KAB-20 aerial bombs.
Powered by a Russian APD-85 engine, the Forpost can fly for up to 18 hours and has a range of 250 kilometers.
Russia has been assembling the Forpost system domestically since 2010, first using Israeli components and later producing parts locally at the Ural Civil Aviation Plant.
The shootdown follows a separate Ukrainian success earlier in April, when troops from the 66th Mechanized Brigade destroyed a rare Russian engineering vehicle used to deploy mobile roadways.
