Ukrainian forces used FP-1 one-way attack drones to destroy a Russian S-400 air-defence launcher in Bryansk Oblast on September 17, according to Fire Point, the Ukrainian manufacturer of the drone. Russia has not confirmed the reported loss.
Fire Point said the launcher was struck near the village of Poroshino, along the 15K-303 highway. The company said Russian forces had modified the vehicle for attacks against ground targets and that it had previously been used against Kyiv. Those operational claims have not been independently confirmed in the source material.
Separate reports leave number of launchers unclear
Ukraine’s General Staff separately said its forces struck two S-400 launchers during overnight operations into September 17 in the Vygonychi area of Bryansk Oblast, close to Poroshino. It was not clear whether the military’s account referred to the same launcher identified by Fire Point or to two separate vehicles.
Open-source monitoring group CyberBoroshno said it had geolocated a destroyed vehicle from photographs of the wreckage and placed the site near Poroshino. The reporting did not establish whether all Ukrainian accounts concerned a single strike event or multiple launcher losses.
Russian authorities did not acknowledge damage to S-400 equipment. Bryansk’s acting governor, Yegor Kovalchuk, said regional air defences had shot down 82 drones over a 24-hour period, but made no reference to losses among Russian air-defence systems.
FP-1 role in deep-strike operations
Fire Point describes the FP-1 as a long-range, one-way attack drone designed for strikes deep inside Russian territory. The company introduced the system in late 2024 with a stated payload of 60 to 120 kilograms and an initial claimed range of about 1,600 kilometres. By mid-2026, it was advertising extended-range configurations with a claimed reach of up to 3,400 kilometres.
According to the source report, FP-1 drones have previously been used against Russian refineries and other sites beyond the front line, including the Omsk refinery in July and a facility in the Yamalo-Nenets region on September 9.
S-400 launchers as targets
The S-400 Triumf is a Russian surface-to-air missile system intended to engage aircraft, drones and cruise missiles; Russia also says the system can intercept some ballistic targets. The source report said Russia has adapted some interceptor missiles since 2024 for a secondary ground-attack role, firing them into Ukraine on quasi-ballistic trajectories.
That dual-use role has made individual S-400 launchers a target for Ukrainian operations, according to the report. Removing a launcher from service can affect both Russian air-defence coverage and the availability of systems that Ukraine says can be employed against ground targets.
