Russian "Vampire" Drone Factory Director Seriously Injured in Bomb Attack
On August 4, a car bombing occurred outside Yekaterinburg. The Mercedes vehicle driven by Vladimir Tkachuk, head of the Ural Drone Manufacturing Plant, was detonated beneath its chassis by an explosive device. His accompanying security personnel were killed, while Tkachuk sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving treatment in intensive care.
Tkachuk is the pioneer behind the "Vampire" attack drone project. When the initiative began, it started in just a 28-square-meter basement with only four professionals relying on public donations to kickstart development. In the summer of 2022, after visiting Izyum firsthand, Tkachuk concluded that humanitarian aid alone could not address the frontline situation. Faced with foreign-supplied Bradley and Marder armored vehicles, he insisted on developing indigenous combat equipment tailored to the battlefield. The team sought out radio-controlled model aviation enthusiasts, training competitive racing drone pilots into military drone operators. They even mortgaged their homes to expand the factory, establishing a full production line and a dedicated pilot training base.
The factory’s self-developed heavy drones can carry up to 20 kilograms. Their machine vision system was independently developed by local university graduates. The airframe draws design inspiration from the T-34 tank—simple and robust in structure, well-suited for rough frontline conditions. The first batch of 80 "Vampire" drones was deployed to the Dnieper River front lines, assigned to the Metchitnov crew, who were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia. These drones effectively restricted Ukrainian daytime river operations and achieved confirmed kills against Abrams tanks.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872701872523331/
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