Mugin UAV Mugin

The Mugin is a family of twin-boom fixed-wing drones manufactured by the Chinese company Mugin UAV. It became widely known during the Russo-Ukrainian War, where both Russian and Ukrainian forces employed it for different missions.

In November 2021, Somali authorities confiscated six Mugin-2s imported from Turkey, suspecting they were destined for attacks. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both sides used the aircraft. In February 2023, Ukrainian troops shot down what appeared to be a Mugin-4 carrying an OF-62 high-explosive fragmentation projectile. The following month, soldiers from Ukraine’s 111th Territorial Defense Brigade downed a Russian Mugin-5 Pro with AK-47s after being tipped off by agents in occupied territory; they found it flying low and, upon inspection, discovered it was packed with about 44 pounds of explosives, likely intended as a loitering munition.

The explosives were safely detonated. Ukrainian forces also reportedly used Mugin-5s for surveillance inside Russian-occupied areas, and employed them in an August 2022 attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. The drones were also speculated to have been involved in the May 2023 Kremlin drone attack. In response to this military use, Mugin UAV issued a statement in March 2023 condemning the practice and announcing it had stopped all sales to Russia and Ukraine.

The Mugin line includes several variants. The Mini Mugin has a 2600 mm wingspan, conventional takeoff, and comes in H-Tail or V-Tail configurations, designed for a 20–35cc gasoline engine. The Mugin-2 Pro is a VTOL variant with a 2930 mm wingspan, H-Tail, and either electric or gasoline power. The Mugin-3 offers wingspans of 3220 mm or 3600 mm, powered by a DLE60 engine; the smaller version is a conventional V-Tail, while the larger one comes in conventional or VTOL H-Tail forms.

In March 2019, the VTOL variant’s material shifted from wood to fiberglass, reducing its weight from 14.6 kg to 13 kg. The Mugin-3 Pro uses carbon fiber and is available as a 3220 mm conventional V-Tail or a 3600 mm VTOL V-Tail. The Mugin-4 is a conventional takeoff drone with a 4500 mm wingspan.