An-196 Liutyi
Ан-196 «Лютий»
Overview
The An-196 Liutyi is a Ukrainian long-range strike drone created in 2022 within Ukroboronprom with Antonov's involvement, as an answer to the Iranian Shahed-136. Weighing up to 300 kg, it carries a 50–75 kg payload over more than 1,000 km. The Liutyi has been in use since 2023 and has become one of Ukraine's main means of striking oil refineries and defence plants deep inside Russia.
History
The requirement for a Ukrainian long-range strike drone emerged in summer 2022, when Russia began using Iranian Shahed-136 drones on a large scale. On 17 October 2022 Ukroboronprom publicly announced the development of the Liutyi, and in November 2022 the project was shown by the deputy minister for strategic industries. The An-196 designation belongs to Antonov's series: in design, the drone is close to Antonov's pre-war An-BK-1 Horlytsia reconnaissance drone.
Testing began in late 2022, and in June 2023 the drone completed a 1,000 km test flight. Its first known combat use came in May 2023; serial production was established in the second half of 2023, when the Liutyi was also adopted into service. The payload was later increased from 50 to 75 kg and, according to media reports, the range to about 2,000 km.
Design and specifications
The Liutyi is built like a light aircraft, with a twin-boom layout, a pusher propeller and a V-tail. The airframe is fibreglass with metal reinforcement, it takes off on wheeled landing gear, and it can be taken apart for transport. It is 4.4 m long with a 6.7 m wingspan and a take-off mass of 250–300 kg. A petrol piston engine gives a cruising speed of about 150–160 km/h.
The drone flies autonomously along a pre-set route that avoids air defence zones, using inertial navigation with periodic satellite updates. The warhead initially weighed 50 kg, and up to 75 kg in upgraded versions. Media have estimated the unit cost at about $200,000 — more than simpler strike drones, but with noticeably greater range and payload.
Combat use
After its first use in May 2023, the Liutyi became one of Ukraine's main deep-strike weapons against Russia. It is used by the Unmanned Systems Forces (notably the 1st Separate Centre, until December 2025 the 14th Regiment), Defence Intelligence, the SBU and others. Strikes are often carried out in mixed packages together with decoys and missiles.
Known targets include the Saratov oil refinery (25 November 2024, over 600 km), the Kupol electromechanical plant in Izhevsk, which makes Tor-M air defence systems (1 July 2025, about 1,300–1,400 km), and the Lukoil refinery in Ukhta (February 2026, about 1,700 km from the border — according to the SBU, a range record for the drone). On 5 May 2026 Liutyi drones, together with an FP-5 Flamingo missile, struck the VNIIR-Progress plant in Cheboksary.
Missile-carrier variant
In July 2026, at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK, a reusable Liutyi variant was shown on the Ukroboronprom stand carrying four compact jet-powered air-to-surface missiles under its wings, with a range of up to 200 km and a speed of about 500 km/h. It is meant to launch its missiles outside air defence range, return and fly again. No footage of missile launches from it or service-entry dates have been published.
Production
The first serial batch was built at the end of August 2023. Production is spread across different enterprises rather than concentrated at a single plant. In 2025 Germany financed the production of about 500 Liutyi drones; according to media reports, German investment in the programme exceeded €100 million.
Liutyi photo gallery
Sources
Focus — Гроза російських НПЗ: що відомо про безпілотник «Лютий» (21.02.2025) ↗
UNIAN — Ан-196 «Лютий»: Україна почала успішно застосовувати власну розробку (06.08.2025) ↗
Drone Warfare — An-196 Liutyi: Ukraine's Long-Range Strike Drone ↗
Covert Shores (H I Sutton) — Guide to Ukraine's Long Range Attack Drones ↗
Defence Blog — Ukraine turns its signature kamikaze drone into a missile carrier (2026) ↗