Ukrainian “Hell” for Russia: what is the price of a drone missile, how far does it fly and is it faster than the “Shahed”

On December 6, 2024, the world learned about a new Ukrainian development – the “Hell” drone missile. On that day, a short video and a post about this weapon appeared on President Zelensky's social networks. It presents a fairly large batch of rocket-like shells with serial numbers up to 69 and 88.

The President revealed the secret and named the product – “Hell”. The most important thing is that this is not a prototype, but already serial samples that have been tested in combat conditions and are now waiting for the right opportunity for their use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The “Hell” drone missile. Our, Ukrainian weapon, which already has confirmed combat use. Today, the first batch was transferred to our Defense Forces. Now the task – to increase production and use. I thank everyone who is involved in our defense production, whose contribution helps Ukraine fight, – This is how President Zelensky presented “Hell” to Russians.

24 The channel tells what is currently known about “Hell” and what Russians should fear.

Three times faster than “Shaheda”: how the idea to create “Hell” came about

“Hell” – is a private development that appeared within the framework of the “Army of Drones” initiative, a joint project of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Special Communications Service, and UNITED24.

This project provides, among other things, for the promotion and encouragement of developers, as well as assistance in implementation. In particular, developers were given the opportunity not to “reinvent the wheel”, but to work directly with the “target audience” and find out what they want.

The idea of ​​”Hell” arose after consulting with the military, who are directly involved in drones and destroy Russians with their help. UAV operators asked to develop a budget option, because Ukraine is currently in a situation where it should be “cheap and angry”,
– says the article EP.

Only such an option can be quickly scaled up and transformed from a good but complex development into a truly mass product. The military also counted on a long range – several hundred kilometers behind enemy lines.

Yes, the developers had the idea to put a jet engine on the drone. This allowed to increase the speed of the projectile and, accordingly, make it more difficult to intercept it. If the conventional “Shahed” has a speed of around 200 kilometers per hour, then “Hell” has about 700 kilometers per hour. And this actually makes “Hell” a hybrid, because it is a drone that behaves like a cruise missile.

It should be noted that military science does not know the term “drone-missile”, it is more of a marketing ploy, highlighted by the Office of the President since the summer presentation of “Palyanytsia”. However, the term gives a reference to the history of the project's emergence and its evolution.

In August 2023, the company (not named for security reasons) developed the technical specifications and first sketches. The development project lasted a year, the manufacturing company financed it itself, the developers themselves estimate the budget at several million dollars. Which is very little, and if you take into account the time from the sketch to the series, then even more so.

The “Hell” drone missile – main characteristics

• manufacturer – Ukraine,
• type – hybrid of drone and cruise missile,
• status – serial production from September 2024,
• available quantity – about 100,
• combat use – yes,
• guidance system – inertial and GPS,
• warhead weight – 50 – 100 kilograms,
• range – 700 kilometers,
• speed – up to 700 kilometers per hour,
• Engine – small-sized turbojet,
• price – unknown (but less than $200,000).

How much does “Hell” cost and why is it universal

The price of one shell is not disclosed, but it is less than the price of the fiery novelty of 2023 – the “Fever” kamikaze drone, which has become a frequent guest at Russian refineries. Recall that at the start of serial production it cost about $200,000. Now this amount may be less.

Pay attention! The relative low price is explained by the fact that the rocket consists of 70% Ukrainian components produced by state and private companies. The rocket can operate on different engines, depending on their availability on the market.

This makes “Hell” quite versatile and very convenient to manufacture. Also, the engine is located on the “Hell” outside, which significantly simplifies the assembly of the finished product and increases the space for the payload in the body of the rocket itself.

• “Hell” has a combined guidance and combines GPS with an inertial system.
• The latter determines the exact position of the rocket during launch, and then calculates all changes in the rocket's position as it moves away from this reference point – altitude, course, and wind angles.
• During these calculations, errors inevitably accumulate, which prevent the missile from being accurately aimed at the target.
• GPS helps to correct the situation. So this combination acts as insurance and gives the projectile great accuracy.

Minister for Strategic Industries German Smetanin said during the presentation of “Hell” on December 6, 2024 that special attention was paid to the issue of overcoming enemy electronic warfare.

Surprises for Russians

Most of the systems installed on the missile are a state secret, but the developers of “Hell” promise the Russians big surprises. The developers are not yet revealing exactly how the “Hell” launch will take place, but they say that in the future different options will be possible.

Analysis of the photo and the presence of characteristic mounts on the fuselages of the missiles indicate that the “Hell” has “circles” that are launched from airplanes. However, it could also be some kind of special ground-based launcher.

If the assumption about the air launch of the “Hell” is true, then the Ukrainians once again managed to surprise, because they managed to make a very cheap cruise missile from scratch.

“Hell” has a long range, estimated at hundreds of kilometers. Because of this, in particular, it was necessary to reduce the weight of the warhead. However, the payload is within 100 kilograms – this is very good.

For example, the infamous Russian-Iranian “Shaheeds” weigh no more than 70 kilograms. At the same time, they have been causing enormous damage to Ukraine for several years and creating significant problems for air defense. But now the Russians will know that this game can be played by two.

Where does the name come from and when will Russia experience the Ukrainian “Hell”

Currently, 5 combat launches of “Hell” are known. One of the flights ended with the destruction of an expensive Russian military target. So, the project has already started to turn a profit.

When the product was almost ready, it was demonstrated to the military at the training ground. President Zelensky was invited to one of the demonstrations. It was he who suggested calling the new product “Hell”, since the rocket evoked such associations in him.

The further fate of “Hell” in serial production and scaling will be determined by its use against the occupiers. Then it will be known how well the technology meets the challenges of war and how exactly it will need to be improved.

Currently, the serial production of “Hell” has been going on for 3 months (i.e. since September 2024, which means that exactly a year has passed from the time of the sketches to the series). During this time, about 100 missiles have been manufactured. It is expected that production efficiency will increase soon.

It should be noted that “Hell” is not the only new product of the season. So far, Ukraine has already presented its development counterparts – the “Palyanytsia” and “Ruta” drone missiles.

In addition, it is expected that Ukraine will receive more powerful missiles. And while Putin scares the world with “Oreshnik” and his henchmen spread the fake about 300 pieces per year, Ukrainians calmly do their job.