Scalpel

Overview

The Scalpel (Скальпель) is a small Russian loitering munition made by Vostok Design Bureau. Its elongated fuselage carries two sets of rectangular wings in an X layout, which has earned it the nickname “younger brother” of ZALA’s Lancet (ArmyInform). Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR) gives a take-off weight of up to 10.5 kg and a warhead of up to 5 kg (HUR).

Who builds it

HUR’s War & Sanctions database lists Vostok Design Bureau LLC, registered in Ryazan, as the “developer and manufacturer of Scalpel barrage munitions used in the war against Ukraine” (HUR). The bureau itself told the Russian state news agency TASS in September 2023 that it had developed the Scalpel and would start production that October. In that statement it gave a speed of up to 120 km/h, a range of up to 40 km, a payload bay 125 mm wide and 650 mm long, and a price of 300,000 roubles without the payload (Aviacionline). Those are the maker’s figures.

How it works

HUR says the Scalpel, like the Lancet, is guided by an operator in real time. It does not claim onboard target recognition. Its component list, published in March 2026, includes an Orange Pi single-board computer from China’s Shenzhen Xunlong, STMicroelectronics STM32H743 and STM32F103 microcontrollers, a Russian-made Voltbricks DC/DC module, a TE Connectivity pressure sensor, an NXP CAN transceiver and power electronics from Texas Instruments, Infineon and Analog Devices. HUR counted 62 electronic components across the Lancet and the Scalpel, most of them from the United States, Switzerland and China.

An Orange Pi is a general-purpose computer that could run image processing, but no source has shown what software it runs on the Scalpel.

Sanctions

HUR’s record shows Vostok Design Bureau under sanctions in the United States (from August 2024), Ukraine (August 2025), Canada (February 2026) and several other jurisdictions.