AN-196 Liutyi Drone Cost and Specifications

The AN-196 Liutyi is Ukraine's long-range one-way attack drone, and no official unit price exists. Forbes España puts it at around $200,000, while Kyiv Post gives $40,000 to $200,000 depending on target and range.

Reported range runs from the 1,000 km trial Ukroboronprom announced in June 2023 to about 2,000 km claimed by Militarnyi. UNITED24 Media and Forbes España report a 50 kg warhead raised to 75 kg. No source used here publishes a speed figure.

AN-196 Liutyi at a glance

What the public record establishes

Euromaidan Press links the Liutyi to Ukraine's 2024 strikes on Russian oil refineries. Defense Express calls it the main instrument of those strikes and says it hit more than a dozen. Forbes España attributes later strikes to it, including the Mozdok air base in June 2024 and the Kupol plant in Izhevsk on 1 July 2025.

Militarnyi says residents filmed what appears to be a Liutyi over Ufa during an 8 July 2026 strike. Euromaidan Press says footage of the 12 February 2026 Ukhta refinery strike showed drones resembling it. No official Ukrainian confirmation of the drone type for those two strikes appears in these sources.

The distinction between platform identity and event attribution matters. A manufacturer page can establish what a drone is; an official military release, UN report, or conflict-monitoring source is needed to establish where it appears in a war. Where those records do not align, this page keeps the uncertainty visible.

This is a non-operational reference page. It explains the manufacturer, platform family, and public conflict record without providing instructions for building, targeting, deploying, or modifying a weapon system.

Liutyi Cost and Specs

No official price for the Liutyi drone has been published by Ukroboronprom, Antonov or Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, so every cost figure comes from a reporting outlet. Forbes España puts the unit cost at around $200,000, and a 2025 Euromaidan Press article by David Axe gives the same $200,000 without naming a source. Kyiv Post gives $40,000 to $200,000 "depending on the target selected and range needed", also without a source.

Specifications are just as scattered across outlets. Militarnyi says official Liutyi performance specifications are classified, and none of the sources used for this page publishes a maximum or cruise speed.

How Much Does a Liutyi Drone Cost?

A Liutyi drone costs around $200,000 by the estimates of Forbes España and Euromaidan Press, though no Ukrainian body has confirmed a price. The $200,000 figure from Forbes España also matches two indirect calculations built from other reporting.

The first calculation runs through the Bober drone. Militarnyi's sources, as cited by Euromaidan Press in March 2024, say the Liutyi costs about twice as much as the Bober. Serhii Prytula's Foundation bought the Bober for 4 million Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH), about $100,000, per unit. Twice $100,000 is $200,000, though the article itself never states that total.

The second calculation runs through German funding. Citing Die Welt, the 2025 Euromaidan Press article says Germany is providing around $100 million for 500 Liutyi drones, and $100 million divided by 500 is $200,000 per drone.

Kyiv Post's $40,000 lower bound is the only figure well below $200,000, and Kyiv Post ties the spread to target and range without citing anyone. For a single part, Militarnyi, via Euromaidan Press, says the engine wreckage resembles the German Hirth F-23 50 hp aviation engine, which costs around $5,000. The engine model itself is unconfirmed.

Who Makes the Liutyi Drone?

The Liutyi is produced under Ukroboronprom, Ukraine's state defense conglomerate, and some outlets also name Antonov as developer or manufacturer. Euromaidan Press says Ukroboronprom announced the drone's development in October 2022, in response to requirements set in early August by then-Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Forbes España, in an article by Vikram Mittal, says development began in 2022 by Antonov ASTC in collaboration with Ukroboronprom. Kyiv Post's Stefan Korshak describes the Liutyi as manufactured by Antonov, Ukraine's biggest aerospace company, and associated firms. Euromaidan Press, the 2024 Kyiv Post report, UNITED24 Media and Militarnyi name Ukroboronprom and do not mention Antonov.

No source used here names any producer besides Antonov and Ukroboronprom. On the operating side, Ukrainska Pravda's sources, as cited by Euromaidan Press, say Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (HUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) coordinate the strike operations.

What Is the Range of the Liutyi Drone?

The Liutyi drone's reported range runs from under 800 km to about 2,000 km depending on source and warhead, and no official figure exists. Ukroboronprom's original goal, per Euromaidan Press, was a drone weighing over 200 kg that could carry a 75 kg warhead more than 1,000 km. Ukroboronprom announced a successful 1,000 km trial in June 2023.

Later figures go higher. UNN said in July 2025 that the drones can strike targets up to 1,200 km away. Forbes España says an original range of about 1,000 km was extended to about 2,000 km.

UNITED24 Media said in November 2024 that Ukrainian reconnaissance units report strike capability has expanded to 2,000 km, with details undisclosed. Its July 2026 article gives an estimated 1,400 to 2,000 km from open-source information.

Strike distances help test those numbers. Euromaidan Press says the Ukhta refinery hit in February 2026 sits roughly 1,700 km from Ukraine in a straight line. Euromaidan Press adds that the 2,000 km figure several outlets quoted appears to come from road routing.

Range and Payload in Context

Several sources link a heavier Liutyi warhead to a shorter range. Kyiv Post's 2024 report says the drone normally carries a nominal 50 kg warhead that can be increased to 75 kg. The same report puts a 75 kg version's range at under 800 km and names no source for that figure.

Kyiv Post's 2026 explainer gives 1,000 km reliably and up to 2,000 km with smaller warheads.

The 2025 Euromaidan Press headline says the 50% warhead increase came at the cost of 400 km of range. In the same article, David Axe writes that a Liutyi carries an approximately 50 kg warhead farther than 800 km. Citing Donbas Realities, UNITED24 Media says the 75 kg payload was used against the Saratov Oil Refinery, a flight of over 600 km from the Ukrainian border.

The warhead weight itself is disputed. Defense Express estimates the casing Russia displayed at 50 kg, a high-explosive fragmentation type, and says 50 kg corresponds to the Shahed-136. A Canadian drone expert identified as Roy, cited in the 2025 Euromaidan Press article, observed a 60 kg OFB-60 warhead apparently recovered from a crashed Liutyi.

That Euromaidan Press article also compares the Liutyi with a Russian Shahed's 90 kg warhead.

Frontelligence Insight, in a March study cited by Euromaidan Press, said more than half of recorded strikes between September and February had limited impact. The study named the small warhead of drones such as the Liutyi as one factor. UNITED24 Media also says early Liutyi versions had impact-trigger failures, fixed by moving the initiator to the nose of the fuselage.

Documented Strikes Attributed to the Liutyi

Strikes attributed to the Liutyi include Russian oil refineries, and attributions come from reporting outlets, Telegram channels or video resemblance. Euromaidan Press said in March 2024 that, since early 2024, flights of 2 to 6 Liutyis carried out over a dozen strikes reaching up to 800 km inside Russia. The same article notes that not every attack on its refinery list used the Liutyi.

Russian officials dispute several results. Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov said the June 2026 Ufa attack was repelled and that the plants were running normally, as reported by Euromaidan Press. Russia's defense ministry claimed 106 Ukrainian drones intercepted on the night of the Ukhta strike, without mentioning the Komi Republic. Defense Express says not all Liutyis reach their targets because Russia still has air defenses.

Production Volume Claims

No source used here gives a total number of Liutyi drones built or a current production rate. Euromaidan Press says Ukroboronprom reported successful test stages in December 2022. BBC News Ukraine, as cited by Kyiv Post, reported the first launch into Russian territory in May 2023 and serial production beginning at the end of summer 2023.

On 16 November 2023, Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin said Ukraine had entered mass production of Shahed-136 analogues at "tens per month", without naming the drone. Euromaidan Press says the Ukroboronprom CEO confirmed the start of mass production. UNITED24 Media reports President Zelenskyy's plan to produce at least 30,000 long-range drones in 2025, without saying how many would be Liutyi. Both are statements by Ukrainian officials and are unverified.

German funding gives a unit count. Citing Die Welt, UNN says Germany's government concluded its first contract to fund more than 500 Liutyi drones, with no sum stated. UNN adds that Germany's Defense Ministry confirmed funding for long-range projects without details. Citing Die Welt, Euromaidan Press puts the funding at around $100 million and says Ukroboronprom is building hundreds more.

Liutyi Compared with FP-1

Defense Express, as cited by UNITED24 Media, suggests one reason Ukraine showed a reusable Liutyi is that FP-1 long-range strike drones are believed to offer similar range at lower cost. The sources used here publish no FP-1 price or range, so the figures sit on the Liutyi vs FP-1 comparison and the Fire Point FP-1 profile.

Militarnyi and UNITED24 Media, both citing Oboronka, say a Liutyi carrying four compact air-to-surface missiles was displayed at the Farnborough International Airshow. UNITED24 calls it the first publicly displayed reusable version. Militarnyi gives the missiles a stated range of up to 200 km and a flight speed of about 500 km/h, with warhead weight undisclosed.

The 500 km/h figure belongs to the missiles, and no source gives the Liutyi's own speed. UNITED24 says neither the manufacturer nor Ukrainian officials have confirmed the missiles' guidance method, and Militarnyi notes the displayed aircraft had no electro-optical targeting pod.

What Is Not Published

Several basic figures for the AN-196 Liutyi have no public source. No official unit price from Antonov, Ukroboronprom or Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has been found, and none of the sources used here publishes a maximum or cruise speed.

The engine model and horsepower are unconfirmed beyond the wreckage-based resemblance to the Hirth F-23. No interception rate for the Liutyi is published. Russian officials say only that attacks were repelled, and Russian defense ministry drone totals do not break out the drone type. The missile carrier's missile maker and warhead weight are also undisclosed.

The drone type for the 2026 Ukhta and Ufa strikes rests on video resemblance, with no official Ukrainian confirmation found. For other systems in the same campaign, see Ukrainian long-range drones, the Ukraine-Russia war drone index and the kamikaze drones guide. To weigh the Liutyi drone's reported $200,000 cost against a rival, open the Liutyi vs FP-1 comparison.

Wars covered

• Russia–Ukraine War — 2014–present; full-scale invasion from February 2022