# Russia's new attack drone blurs the line with cruise missiles

> Ukraine says Russia has deployed a faster, higher-flying variant of its Geran-5 drone that functions as a small cruise missile, equipped with thermobaric warheads.
- Title: Russia's new attack drone blurs the line with cruise missiles
- Summary: Ukraine says Russia has deployed a faster, higher-flying variant of its Geran-5 drone that functions as a small cruise missile, equipped with thermobaric…
- Keywords: breaking, russia, ukraine, geran-5 drone, k5-k variant, attack drones, air defense, military intelligence, thermobaric warheads, Business Insider
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/russian-drones-evolving-into-cruise-missiles-ukraine-reveals-latest-one-2026-11
- Author: Jake Epstein
- Published: 2026-11-09T17:05:30.774+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: breaking, russia, ukraine, geran-5 drone, k5-k variant, attack drones, air defense, military intelligence, thermobaric warheads, business, technology
## Ukraine reports new Russian drone variant
Russia has begun using a K5-K variant of its Geran-5 drone that more closely resembles a missile and can fly faster and higher than predecessors, Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said Monday.
## How Ukraine found the new weapon
Several weeks ago Russia began using the K5-K to attack Ukrainian cities. The GUR's experts recently found a nearly intact munition in the middle of a field.
## The K5-K qualifies as a cruise missile
Considering the K5-K's aerodynamic and technical characteristics, it can already be classified as a small-sized cruise missile, the GUR said. Ukraine discovered hundreds of foreign-made electronic components inside.

> can already be classified as a small-sized cruise missile
## The K5-K's improved performance specs
The K5-K can reach an altitude of nearly twenty thousand feet, up from sixteen thousand feet, and cruise at speeds over two hundred eighty miles per hour.
## Armed with thermobaric warheads
The K5-K found by GUR experts was armed with a TBCH-90 thermobaric warhead. These vacuum bombs disperse an aerosol cloud of explosive material, then ignite it, causing blasts hotter than four thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
## Russia's shift to cheaper cruise-missile weapons
Russia is increasingly using quasi-cruise missiles, weapons between cheap attack drones and expensive cruise missiles.
## Ukraine's air defenses face new strain
Russian forces likely aim to use quasi-cruise missiles to augment devastating effects of ballistic missile and jet-powered drone strikes, which have been exploiting Ukrainian interceptor missile shortages, according to the Institute for the Study of…
## Key takeaway

Ukraine's military intelligence says Russia has begun using a new K5-K drone variant that flies faster and higher than predecessors, straining Ukrainian air defenses with cheaper cruise-missile-like weapons.