GLEFA and Culver Aerospace Behemoth

History

The Behemoth is a Ukrainian mid-range one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicle developed by GLEFA and Culver Aerospace. It is intended for strike missions against targets at close and medium ranges and carries a large tandem warhead payload.

The drone was first shown publicly in May 2026 at the Wild Drones event. According to Defence Blog, Ukrainian reporting at the time stated that Behemoth had entered serial production and was already being used by Ukraine's Defense Forces.

Footage released around Ukraine's Independence Day in August 2026 showed dozens of black Behemoth airframes arranged inside a production facility. The footage provided public evidence of production at a substantial scale, although it did not establish an exact production rate or total number of completed drones.

Development and production

GLEFA and Culver Aerospace developed Behemoth as a middle-range strike platform. At its May 2026 public presentation, representatives described it as a system for attacking targets at close and medium ranges. Reports from the same period stated that serial production had begun.

The August 2026 production footage showed rows of completed or substantially assembled airframes positioned on wooden and metal stands. A separate production-footage report also described dozens of Behemoth drones displayed inside an assembly facility. The available material supports large-scale simultaneous assembly, but does not provide an official monthly or annual production figure.

Design

Behemoth has a fixed-wing airframe with a general configuration compared in published reporting to Shahed-family one-way attack drones. The aircraft is 2.2 m long, 0.5 m high and has a wingspan of 2.28 m.

Guidance and control

Reported control options include fully autonomous, semi-automatic and first-person-view modes. Published accounts state that the drone is designed to operate at low altitude in order to make detection and interception more difficult. Communications have also been reported as using Starlink, although the available material does not identify the detailed communications architecture.

Warhead

The Behemoth carries two warheads arranged in sequence. The forward charge is reported as a 40 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead, followed by a 35 kg thermobaric warhead. Their combined stated mass is approximately 75 kg.

Operational history

Ukrainian reports stated that Behemoth was already in service with the country's Defense Forces by May 2026. During June 2026, Ukrainian forces were reported to have used Behemoth drones together with other systems in strikes against the Chonhar Bridge linking occupied Kherson Oblast with Crimea.

Other reported Behemoth targets included the Henichesk road bridge connecting mainland Ukraine with the Arabat Spit, an ammunition depot at Staromykhailivka and a command post in Selydove in Donetsk Oblast. These reports indicate combat use during the Russia-Ukraine war.

Program status

By August 2026, Behemoth was reported to be in serial production and operational use. Independence Day footage showing dozens of airframes on a factory floor was consistent with earlier reports that production had expanded beyond small prototype batches. No official production rate or cumulative production total was provided in the available material.

Operators

• Ukraine: Ukraine's Defense Forces were reported to be using Behemoth operationally by May 2026.

Specifications (Behemoth)

General characteristics

• Length: 2.2 m
• Height: 0.5 m
• Wingspan: 2.28 m
• Warhead payload: approximately 75 kg combined
• Warhead arrangement: 40 kg high-explosive fragmentation charge followed by a 35 kg thermobaric charge

Performance

• Maximum stated range: up to 300 km

Guidance and control

• Control modes: fully autonomous, semi-automatic and first-person-view
• Flight profile: designed for low-altitude operation