By Chris Kubecka Author of The Drone Wars OSINT Field Guide to Russian Drone Footage & Verification and How to Hack a Modern Dictatorship: The Digital CIA/OSS Sabotage Book & espionage targetFinally published the book…after 120 hours of editing! I hate Word!Drones, Drones and more Drones!

Welcome to a practical spotter’s guide to the Russian drones you’ll see most often. What footage looks like, how to tell a Lancet strike from FPV or ATGM video, and where 2025 changed the game. (Deeper model-by-model cards, supply-chain notes, and doctrine analysis are in the paid subscriber follow-ups.)

If my work helps your team or reporting, consider becoming a paid subscriber or grab one of my books. Thank you for making more field-tested analysis possible. I am looking for suggestions on how to securely, and ethically crowdsource updates.

If you loves drones, you will enjoy this series!

TL;DR

Most viral strike videos fall into three buckets: Orlan-10 (ISR/spotter), ZALA Lancet (loitering munition), and Shahed-136/Geran-2 (one-way attack). Each has very distinct signatures.2025 saw heavier Supercam S350 and Albatros M5 use for persistent recon/EW pairing; Sirius matured beyond “demo only.” (Details + visual cards in the paid post to follow.)August 2025 vendor drone claims might not be…accurate.According to Russian propaganda Telegram, the country is a technological marvel matched by none муахахахаThis guide shows how to ID correctly and avoid propaganda traps. Using my checklist OSINT drone hunters, defenders and journalists can quickly incorporate the process.What’s in this update (as of Aug 15, 2025)Quick IDs for Orlan-10, Lancet, Shahed-136 with field-use tells (audio, HUD/reticle patterns, terminal behaviour).Brief on newer or newly prominent Russian systems I’m tracking (Sirius, Supercam S350, Albatros M5, Privet-82, Komar, Dagger, Vostok-E & many more).Spotter’s Guide (Free)Orlan-10 (ISR / artillery spotting)Look: fixed-wing, pusher prop; altitude circling; often IR or colour overwatch.Footage tells: steady orbit from medium altitude; occasional on-screen crosshair for reference; sometimes a visible laser spot (Krasnopol cue).Notorious details: off-the-shelf Canon DSLR found in wreckage; historically weak/unencrypted links have been intercepted in the wild. (Yes, really.)Common traps: confusing Orlan ISR with commercial quadcopter clips at low altitude — check altitude, stability, and role.ZALA Lancet (loitering munition, “kamikaze”)Look from POV: B/W nose cam, centered reticle, auto-zoom; rapid closing; feed often cuts at impact (drone destroyed).Audio: frequently no operator chatter in official edits; some clips add music; cut before impact is common.Context cue: usually first appears on Russian Telegram with “Lancet destroys…” captions; recovered parts/photos can hard-confirm.Shahed-136 / Geran-2 (Iranian-made OWA)Look/sound from ground: delta wing, rear prop; very loud moped/chainsaw engine; straight-line, low altitude; typically no drone POV.Verification: wreckage photos with “Герань-2” markings; match silhouette/warhead sections; log the time to correlate with wave attacks.

Subscribers can look forward to: Visual cards for drones (dimensions, communications, EW notes, example frames), doctrine shifts (FPV + ISR + Krasnopol loops), and supply-chain realities (COTS parts, sanctions evasion, garage builds).

Method: How I Generally VerifyWorkflow & tools: frame-by-frame stills; audio checks (engine pitch vs known signatures); Exif/metadata when available; cross-match to catalogs (CIT/Bellingcat/Janes/ArmyRecognition); visual silhouette compare.Drone vs missile: field-of-view, terminal behavior (spin/straight-in), detonation pattern, presence/absence of a launcher elsewhere in the thread.Propaganda pre-filters: music overlays, mid-impact cuts, “kill-influencer” edits, re-uploads with altered captions. I flag, then re-locate originals.Uncertainty labels: every ID gets High / Medium / Low confidence + reason. (Template at the end, use it as a base for your process.)Example Reporting Template for Drone IdentificationExecutive Summary

2. Footage Analysis Summary

Chris Kubecka

3. Supporting Visuals

4. Cross-reference with Source (CIT, Bellingcat)

5. Ethical Considerations (e.g. civilian areas struck? gore?)

6. Recommendation (publish, share privately, redact)

Russian Drone 2025 UpdatesSupercam S350 & Albatros M5 show up more for quiet ISR / fire adjustment; Russian channels hype them as “EW-resistant.” Treat claims cautiously; still, you’ll see longer persistence feeds.Supercam S350 (Telegram + Chris Kubecka)

2. Sirius (Inokhodets-RU) progressed beyond show-pieces; twin-engine MALE with claimed guided-bomb carriage. (Full model assessment + tasking patterns in the paid report.

Telegram + Chris KubeckaSneak Peek: New Kamikaze “Italmas” (Aug 2025)

Open-source reporting and research shows Italmas / Izdeliye-54 sightings and photos in Ukraine this year; specs vary by outlet. Early (2023) analysis warned evidence was thin; 2025 reporting includes images from downed examples and Ukrainian coverage of testing in Sumy. Plus juicy, newly obtained specs, video and pictures obtained from Russian OSINT. Treat range/stealth claims as unverified manufacturer or media assertions unless backed by wreckage forensics. On one hand they claim the Italmas / Izdeliye-54 is silent, yet uses a gas propeller (and loud AF in the video). Another bold claim is “invisibility” to air defences.

The one bold claim Russia is hoping proves true about the Italmas drone. Its cheaper to produce versus the Shahed-136. Especially as the Russian economy continues to weaken.

Telegram + Chris Kubecka

Video available at SubStack

Methods & Provenance (so anyone can reproduce)Workflow: frame-by-frame stills; audio checks (engine pitch vs known signatures); metadata when present; cross-match to catalogues (RUSI, Bellingcat, Janes/ArmyRecognition); visual silhouette compare.Provenance: original-source links archived; mirrored copies labelled; confidence marked High/Medium/Low with the reason.Ethics: sanitized specifics; no targeting data; minimize civilian-harm amplification.Next for Subscribers

Russia’s 2025 Drone Catalogue: model cards, C2 patterns, EW notes, production tells, and procurement breadcrumbs. Includes silhouettes, “from video to ID” checklists, Krasnopol/Lancet workflows, supply-chain & sanctions-evasion notes, plus a monthly 15-min intel call for Founder subs.

📌 More on Me • Chris Kubecka — Wikipedia

ReferencesJane’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Targets (by Janes/IHS Markit) Subscription https://www.janes.comBellingCat https://www.bellingcat.com/FotoForensics “provides tools and training for digital picture analysis, including error level analysis, metadata, and tutorials” https://fotoforensics.com/Many Russian social media sourcesEloquently, loquacious friends

#CyberSecurity #Russia #Drones #NationStateThreats #Hacking #OSINT #Ukraine #TheHacktress #DroneWars

📌 More on Me * Chris Kubecka — Wikipedia

Chris Kubecka is the founder and CEO of Hypasec NL an esteemed cyberwarfare expert, advisor to numerous governments, UN groups and freelance journalist. She is the former Aramco Head of Information Protection Group and Joint Intelligence Group, former. Distinguished Chair of the Middle East Institute, veteran USAF aviator and U.S. Space Command. She specializes in critical infrastructure security and unconventional digital threats and risks. When not getting recruited by dodgy nation-states or embroiled in cyber espionage, she hacks dictatorships & Drones ( affiliate link to my books) and drinks espresso.

@SecEvangelism on Instagram, X, BlueSky LinkedIn Substack

Originally published at https://secevangelism.substack.com .

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