Russia has equipped its Molniya strike drones with additional batteries and high-definition cameras to use the aircraft for battlefield reconnaissance. The modifications represent a shift from the drones' historical role as one-way attack aircraft that carry a warhead and explode on impact.

Russia began operating newly modified Molniya drones around two months ago, according to an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry. Russia has increasingly used modified Molniya drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance purposes, the advisor said.

Russia has been equipping some Molniya drones with additional batteries, a high-definition camera, and a mesh modem for improved communications, according to an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry. The Molniya ISR variant lacks a warhead and is equipped with a microcomputer and a rotating camera with a 10-fold optical zoom, according to a U.S. military weapons information portal.

The drones are made of plywood, foam, and aluminum. Modified Molniya drones cost less than fixed-wing Supercam S-350 or Zala Z-16 drones, which are estimated to cost up to $100,000 each. Russia can purchase 10 to 15 Molniya drones for the price of one Supercam S-350 or Zala Z-16 drone, according to an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry.

Increased activity of Ukrainian interceptor drones has pushed Russia to use cheaper, more expendable drones for reconnaissance and targeting, according to an advisor to Ukraine's defense ministry. The modified Molniya drones are relatively easy to manufacture, giving Russia an ideal price for reconnaissance missions, according to a soldier in Ukraine's 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment.

Russia has begun using fiber-optic cables with larger fixed-wing platforms such as Molniya drones. Drone control via fiber-optic cables is largely immune to electronic warfare, while drone control via radio links is easily jammed. Fiber-optic cables have primarily been used to operate smaller first-person-view drones.

Russia and Ukraine have been constantly modifying their drones during the war to gain an advantage before the other side develops countermeasures. The word Molniya means "lightning" in Russian.