Profile
- Type
- Reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle
- Conflict side
- Russia
- Origin
- Russia, based on the Israeli IAI Searcher II
- Service note
- Russian service from the 2010s; Forpost-R entered service around 2020
Aircraft & UAVs
Forpost
Forpost is Russia's license-built and later indigenized derivative of the Israeli IAI Searcher II UAV, used for reconnaissance, target acquisition, artillery-fire adjustment, and in Forpost-R form armed strike missions. In the Russia-Ukraine War, Russian forces have used Forpost-R aircraft as higher-value reusable UAVs for surveillance and precision attack roles rather than expendable one-way drones.
- Conflict side
- Russia
- Built by
- Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA)
- Built in
- Russia
Service History
- In service
- Russian Forpost-R service reported from 2020
- Used by
- Russian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War, Syrian Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- Israel Aerospace Industries; UZGA indigenized Forpost-R variant
- Designed
- Searcher II lineage from the 1990s; Forpost-R first flew in 2019
- Built by
- Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA)
- Built in
- Russia
- Unit cost
- Not publicly confirmed; Ukrainian reporting has described destroyed examples as high-value UAVs
- Produced
- Russian licensed assembly from the early 2010s; Forpost-R production from around 2020
- Number built
- Not publicly confirmed
- Variants
- Forpost, Forpost-R, Forpost-RE
Specifications
- Crew
- Uncrewed air vehicle
- Maximum takeoff weight
- About 500 kg
- Maximum speed
- About 200 km/h
- Endurance
- Up to about 18 hours
- Service ceiling
- About 20,000 ft / 6,000 m
- Communication range
- Up to about 350 km reported for Forpost-R
- Payload and armament
- Electro-optical/infrared and other reconnaissance payloads; Forpost-R strike versions can carry guided munitions such as KAB-20-class weapons
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Russia
Russian forces fielded the Forpost-R reconnaissance and strike UAV in Ukraine; Janes reported March 2022 Russian MoD footage of an armed Forpost-R mission against a Ukrainian MLRS.
Forpost Images
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Ukraine conflict: Russia employs Forpost-R UCAVPublisher: Janes | Note: Directly documents Russian Forpost-R operational use in the Russia-Ukraine War and summarizes Forpost/Forpost-R origin, manufacturer, and mission roles. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Combat Drones in UkrainePublisher: Air University Press | Note: Provides Forpost-R specifications, service context, and a direct Russia-Ukraine War loss/use reference. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Forpost-RPublisher: Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine | Note: Lists declared Forpost-R characteristics and related Russian legal entities. | Accessed: 2026-06-20IDEX 2025 - First international appearance for Russian Forpost-RE UAVPublisher: EDR Magazine | Note: Supports Forpost-R/Forpost-RE configuration, payload, specifications, and Russia-Ukraine War operational context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Forpost UAV Army-2022 2022-08-20 2286.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the primary Forpost image, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Forpost UAV InnovationDay2013part2-02.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the gallery Forpost image, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. | Accessed: 2026-06-20