France will deliver new Colibri kamikaze drones to Ukraine — what makes them unique

France plans to transfer the first batch of Colibri kamikaze drones manufactured by Delair to Ukraine. The attack drones have successfully passed all tests.

This was reported by Defense Express on Wednesday, October 16.

UAVs from France for Ukraine — characteristics

French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced that the first batch of French-made kamikaze drones for the Ukrainian Defense Forces will be delivered to Ukraine in the next few weeks.

Lecornu noted that these drones, manufactured by Delair, have passed all the necessary tests and will be delivered to both the Ukrainian and French armies. 

Defense Express reports that these are Colibri kamikaze drones, which are analogous to the Russian Lancet and were first introduced in the summer of 2024. It is noted that these are the first French-made attack UAVs.

Although Colibri's characteristics, such as a 45-minute flight time, a 2.3 kg warhead, and a communication range of up to 25 km, cannot be called revolutionary, the French military sees them as a complement to classical artillery, such as the CAESAR self-propelled artillery system.

In early 2024, Ukraine began using new attack drones called Liutyi (Fierce) that can fly over 600 kilometers. The secret long-range drones used by the Defense Intelligence have already hit dozens of strategic targets in Russia.

Earlier, we wrote that in 2024, the Ministry of Defense codified and allowed the armed forces to use more than 140 unmanned aerial systems and 33 ground robotic systems made in Ukraine.