Ukrainian drone names mix humour and wartime messaging

Ukrainian drone makers are using jokes, wordplay and anger in the names of their weapons, turning branding into part of the psychological side of the war with Russia.

Some Ukrainian drones intercept attacks on Ukrainian cities, while others are used for strikes hundreds of kilometres away inside Russia. One example is the PS-1 Sun, made by Ukrainian defence technology firm SkyFall. Its nickname, “pissioun”, is Ukrainian slang for “penis”, and the name has become so well known that Russian kamikaze drones are now said to have been “pissiouned” when they are intercepted.

At the Farnborough airshow southwest of London on Monday, visitors photographed a new version of the PS-1 Sun. A SkyFall spokesperson, wearing a “Pissioun” T-shirt and a balaclava, presented the PS-1 Sun Jet Killer, which the company says is designed to intercept jet-powered Shahed drones used by Russia.

Another SkyFall spokesperson, who attends international defence exhibitions anonymously, said the company wanted to make an effective product while also lifting soldiers’ morale. The spokesperson said the drone’s mythology had “taken off” and that it had become widely known.

At Fire Point, a Ukrainian company specialising in long-range drones, the FP1 and FP2 names officially come from the company’s initials. Internally, however, they stand for an obscene phrase directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s state weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom also uses deliberate naming. Its deep-strike drone Liutyi, used in recent attacks on Russian oil refineries and displayed at Farnborough, means both “February” and “furious” in Ukrainian. February is the month Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

Another Ukroboronprom drone is called Palianytsia, after a traditional Ukrainian white bread. The word is difficult for Russian speakers to pronounce and is used in wartime as a way to distinguish Ukrainians from Russians.

A senior Ukroboronprom official, who asked not to be named, said President Volodymyr Zelensky chose the name Peklo, meaning “hell” in Ukrainian, for an attack drone. The official said the name reflected vengeance and punishment for the destruction caused by Russia, including the loss of the Antonov An-225 Mriya, described in the source as the world’s largest cargo plane and a symbol of Ukraine’s aerospace industry destroyed in the first days of the invasion.

The Ukroboronprom official said the drones were not only commercial products, but objects that help protect Ukrainians and allow them to live another day and see loved ones again. The official said many colleagues leave home in the morning without knowing whether they will return in the evening.