Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec has unveiled an updated model of its Molniya-class FPV drone, designated the 'Lightning 13,' according to a single source. The new variant features an enlarged airframe and four electric motors instead of two, increasing payload capacity.
Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec has unveiled an updated variant of its Molniya-class FPV drone, the 'Lightning 13' (Lightning-13), according to an announcement posted on Telegram by the OSINTdefender channel. The source reports that to the previous Molniya-2 design, the Lightning 13 adds an enlarged airframe and switches from two to four electric motors, allowing an increased payload capacity. No technical specifications — range, endurance, or warhead mass — have been disclosed. The announcement comes as Russia continues to field a growing array of FPV and one-way attack drones in its war in Ukraine. As The Zioneer has reported extensively, Ukraine has mounted repeated mass drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in recent days, and Russia has claimed to intercept hundreds of Ukrainian UAVs overnight. The context items date to 2026-06-07 through 2026-06-15 and are tagged as BACKGROUND; Rostec is a separate development not yet tied to a specific battlefield deployment.
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