 As Russia's invasion drags on into its 17th month, Ukrainian forces say Moscow is ramping up its use of a dangerous low-cost assault drone capable of destroying equipment many times its value. The Lancet drone, an angular grey tube with two pairs of four wings, has been an increasing threat on Ukraine's front lines in recent months, according to Ukrainian solders. Ukrainian servicemen from four different artillery crews named Lancets as one of the main threats they faced on the battlefield in conversations with Reuters. Although the device was first unveiled in 2021, several soldiers said the frequency of their use had increased in recent months. It has increased by a lot. Earlier, in spring, they were not using Lancets as often as they are now, 35-year-old artillery gunner Bodan, who gave his call sign as Doc, told Reuters near Avdiivka on the Donetsk region front lines. Russia's defense ministry has been encouraging an increase of production of the Lancet as a cheap way to hit high-value Western equipment given to Ukraine for its counter-offensive, said Samuel Bandet, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Assault drones can either send payloads to hit their target or be used as single-use loitering munitions where they are strapped with explosives and ram the target themselves. Lancets are going after high-priced targets such as artillery systems, rocket systems, as well as single systems like tanks and others. We're starting to see more Lancet 3 used by the Russian military, at least by the frequency of posts that are on social media.