Ukraine's answer to Mavic: Vyriy Industries reveals SLAVIC drone's combat results
Photo: Vyriy at the Eurosatory 2026 exhibition (Vyriy Industries)
SLAVIC can be used without additional training
The first units of Ukraine's Defense Forces are already using the SLAVIC reconnaissance system in combat conditions. According to Babenko, one of the main goals during development was to create a system that DJI Mavic operators could learn to use without additional training.
"I had the task of making sure an untrained Mavic operator could take this drone, take all the equipment, connect it, and start working," Babenko said.
According to him, operators who had never seen the complex before entered positions where SLAVIC was already being used, right after a rotation. The operating principle was explained to them over the phone, and they immediately started carrying out tasks.
Company prepares to scale up production
Vyriy Industries is already preparing to scale up production of the system. The company sees SLAVIC as a new generation of reconnaissance drones, offering up to 1.5 hours of flight time and up to two hours after switching to new batteries. This will allow crews to operate farther from the front line and carry out longer reconnaissance missions.
"An hour and a half of flight time means roughly 25 kilometers out, 25 to 30 kilometers of operation, and another 25 kilometers back. That's a completely different level of capability compared with the Mavic," Babenko explained.
Vyriy Industries plans to publicly unveil SLAVIC for the first time in the near future.
In July, Vyriy Industries came under scrutiny after law enforcement officers searched the company’s premises. The company said that, ahead of the searches, it and its CEO, Oleksii Babenko, had been targeted by a coordinated information campaign involving what it described as manipulative allegations.
