Death Ray: Ukraine's New Secret Weapon Revealed

Have you ever seen a real-life death ray? Well, if you haven't seen this clip of Russian troops advancing across a small, cratered field and suddenly getting struck by a powerful explosion, you may have been living under a rock. The video, posted on Twitter by Ukrainian officer Anatoly Shtepan, dubbed Destruction of Russians with a Death Ray, went viral, racking up more than 2.5 million views in just days, and it's not surprising. Dubbed a death ray because of the thin trail of smoke left in the weapon's wake, the video demonstrated incredible accuracy. As the survivors flee, they are struck by two more shots, leaving only bodies behind on the field. Online, supporters of Ukraine cheered the strike's seemingly mysterious and deadly firepower. But what are we looking at here? What exactly is this death ray? And just how effective could such a weapon be against Putin's forces? Many who viewed the video, including the poster himself, noted that the footage in question most likely shows a Stugna-P, a Ukrainian-made anti-tank guided missile system, or ATGM. Military expert David Hambling recently told Newsweek that he in fact believes this weapon to be a Stugna missile, which is often identified by its odd-looking smoke trail and, trust us, it's not referred to as a death ray for nothing. Ukraine's Stugna-P missiles were first developed in the 1980s and 90s as a way to boost domestic defense capabilities, and have since become a prominent weapon in the Ukrainian military arsenal. In 2021, Ukraine was in possession of over 7,000 Stugnas, with many more in production. While a version of the system, called the Skif, has also been exported to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Putin's increasing hostilities created an urgent need for more weapons in Ukraine. As a result, many of the Skifs being produced for foreign customers were diverted back to Ukraine, leading to videos of Stugnas with Arabic characters being used against Russian forces. These missiles are notable and desirable for their versatility, accuracy, and effectiveness against modern armor. This combination of factors, while not exactly a death ray, makes the Stugna-P one of the most valuable assets in Ukraine's recent efforts to defend itself against Russian aggression. The Stugna-P was developed by the Ukrainian state-owned enterprise Luch Design Bureau, which has a long history of designing and producing high-tech military equipment. The Stugna missile was originally designed to fill the gap in the Ukrainian military's capability to destroy heavily armored targets, such as tanks and fortifications, from a safe distance. The Stugna-P missile and launcher weigh over 60 pounds, 27.2 kilos each, and the system usually uses a 17.5-8 kilo tandem warhead that can penetrate the armor of even the most advanced tanks. Additionally, its guidance system uses a semi-automatic command-to-line-of-sight, SACLOS method, which allows the operator to guide the missile to its target using a sight or other sighting device. This remote piloting is a rather unusual feature for a small-sized ATGM like the Stugna. The operator can be up to 50 meters away from the missile, watching the target via a remote video link. This video feed is often captured on soldiers' cell phones, one reason why social media is filled with footage of odd-looking strikes like the death ray. The ability to be operated remotely also means that soldiers using Stugna missiles are more difficult to retaliate against, which has helped reduce Ukrainian casualties. But that's not even the beginning of how all-around badass this weapon is. While it is heavier and slightly less powerful than the American Stinger or British Javelin missiles, the Stugna-P can be launched from a variety of platforms, including by infantry soldiers, light vehicles, and helicopters. This versatility has made it an extremely valuable asset for the Ukrainian military, since it can be used in a wide range of scenarios and environments. Early in the war, many of the Stugnas were deployed in urban areas, destroying scores of Russian tanks on the roads to Kiev. With the war's new focus in eastern Ukraine, Stugna missiles have proven valuable in rural off-road settings. This is partly because the missile is also highly effective against other types of armored targets, such as armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, which Russia has relied on to supply its invasion force. Some Ukrainian troops have even adapted the Stugna missile system to be extra portable by mounting it on the back of fast-moving civilian vehicles or transporting mobile hunter-killer teams, consisting of several soldiers who can rapidly fire their missiles and then retreat before they can be targeted by enemy artillery or drones. The Stugna system consists of a lightweight launch tube and a missile that is fitted with a high-explosive anti-tank, or HEAT, warhead. The HEAT warhead is a tandem round, actually consisting of two parts, a precursor charge and a main charge. The precursor charge is designed to penetrate the outer layer of armor on the target, and the main charge is then detonated to cause significant damage to the target's internal structure. Inside the warhead, the second charge is next to a hollow, metal-lined cone. Upon detonation, the explosive blasts the metal into a narrow, high-speed projectile capable of piercing even the heaviest defenses up to 800 millimeters. The tandem warhead design is therefore highly effective against almost any modern armor, including reactive armor and composite armor, which are designed specifically to protect against ATGMs. The Stugna-P's launch tube is also equipped with a sighting system that allows the operator to accurately engage targets at ranges of up to 3,000 meters. The sighting system incorporates a thermal imaging capability, which provides the operator with the ability to detect and engage targets in low-light and no-light conditions. This has again proven extremely valuable in parts of the eastern Ukraine, where infrastructure and electricity have been knocked out, allowing Ukrainian troops to continue their hit-and-run tactics against Russian artillery and tanks at night. Still not convinced that the Stugna-P is one of the fiercest missiles ever invented? No problem, there's more. In addition to its destructive capabilities, the Stugna-P has also been praised for its high level of reliability and accuracy. The missile's guidance system is designed to be extremely resistant to electronic countermeasures and jamming, and its relatively compact size and lightweight design don't hinder its accuracy in striking moving targets. Furthermore, the Stugna-P's range makes the airborne missile a difficult target for enemy forces to pinpoint, even though the missile is relatively slow-moving compared to some other ATGMs. Its range has made it one of the most effective countermeasures to Russian tanks, by allowing Ukraine to devastate them from hidden off-road positions. Weapon systems like the Stugna are therefore a major reason why Russia has lost more than 1,000 individual tanks since the beginning of the 2022 invasion. In addition to the missile's own targeting capabilities, Ukrainian troops have also showcased uncanny human-guided accuracy in videos like that of the Death Ray. As one Twitter user replied to the post, whoever landed those three shots is, without a doubt, the best ATGM operator on Earth. He's practically sniping with it. The Stugna system is highly effective against a range of non-vehicle targets, including fortifications, buildings, and other structures with tactical importance. And as shown in the video, the system can also be used to engage soft targets such as personnel and unarmored vehicles, by swapping out the heat rounds for a high-explosive fragmentation-type warhead. This interchangeability is one of the key reasons why the Stugna-P system is a highly versatile and modular weapon, one that can be used to engage a wide range of targets in a variety of scenarios. In recent years, the Stugna-P has become an increasingly important part of Ukraine's military strategy, as the country has faced more and more aggression from Russia. Despite Western material support, the phase of the war which began with the 2022 invasion has placed a great deal of strain on the Ukrainian military's capabilities, and the Stugna-P has proven to be one of the most valuable assets in the defense of Ukrainian territory. The missile's versatility, accuracy, and effectiveness against armor has made it an essential component of the Ukrainian military's effort to protect its citizens and defend its sovereignty. Because of all these factors, the Stugna-P missile has become a critical part of Ukraine's military arsenal, and as mentioned, the grinding, ever-changing artillery war in Ukraine's east is an ideal environment for a weapon like the Stugna-P, since it can often avoid the punishing retaliations Russia directs against larger missile systems. As the conflict in the east continues, there is little doubt that the Stugna-P will likely remain vitally important. Yet questions still remain about whether the weapon captured on video was simply a Stugna-P missile, or whether there were more elements involved in the attack. There has been some speculation that the strike was not in fact a Stugna, but rather some sort of drone strike. Some have claimed the possibility of a Turkish Bayraktar drone, which Ukraine has received a number of since last year. Others instead argued that the Death Ray is another variant of unmanned vehicle. One former army colonel, who asked not to be named, told Newsweek that the attack may have involved a US-manufactured switchblade drone, a loitering kamikaze munition, which dive-bombs a target and destroys itself on impact. Last year, the US committed to sending Ukraine more than 700 switchblades, which are also capable of precision strikes. Retired Colonel Mark F. Kantzian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies has stated that the Death Ray could have either been a Stugna, or some form of drone that fires rockets after approaching its target. Either possibility highlights the deadly effectiveness of Ukraine's weapons technology and training, and that while Ukrainians may have been outgunned at the start of the invasion, they aren't anymore. Whatever the Death Ray may be, videos like this one make it clear that the future of the war in Ukraine will almost certainly revolve around the strategic use of technology. But let us know what you think. Was the video of a Stugna missile, drone, or something else entirely? And just how much has technology leveled the odds? Give us your thoughts in the comment section below, and don't forget to like and subscribe for more expert military analysis.