In this role, the drone dives at maximum speed up to 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph) and strikes enemy unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) mid-flight.

According to Forbes, Russia may be prevented from producing Lancets in large numbers due to international sanctions, as Russian drones are dependent on imported electronics and they are having difficulties in finding alternatives.

[20] However, in July 2023, television news footage showed a massive new facility with hundreds of Lancets being manufactured as the makers claimed that production was being tripled.

[23] According to Dutch open-source intelligence website Oryx, as of 3 March 2023, Lancet drones scored more than 100 hits on Ukrainian targets during the war.

[25] On 18 April 2023, reports emerged of the destruction of a Ukrainian patrol boat on the Dnipro River after being struck by a Lancet drone.

[27] The same day, other videos showing Lancet drones destroying one 5P85S launcher for the S-300 missile system, and damaging another, appeared on social networks.

[28] During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, a TRML-4D multi-functional radar from the IRIS-T SLM air defense system was destroyed, and a Leopard 2A6 tank was heavily damaged by Lancet drones.

[29][30] On 19 September 2023, Russian sources claimed a Lancet, for the first time, conducted a strike against a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter stationed at Dolgintsevo airfield near Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, some 70 km from the front line on the Dnieper River, indicating the maximum range of the drone had been enhanced from the previously-declared 40 km.

Nearly half of the Lancet's engagements focused on artillery installations, encompassing 255 self-propelled cannons, 272 howitzers and mortars, and 34 MLRS launchers.

[34] On 1 November 2023, the British Ministry of Defence stated that the Lancet was highly likely to be one of the most effective new capabilities deployed by Russia in Ukraine over the previous 12 months.

[35] Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, wrote that Russia was deploying Lancets "widely and effectively" and said countering them was "quite difficult.

"[36] LostArmour tracked an unprecedented 285 Lancent strikes in 29 days of May 2024 (1-29 May), more than any other month, and several times greater than in previous years.

[43][44] During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces began developing countermeasures in response to Russia's tactical use of Lancet drones on the battlefield.

Ukrainian forces also had begun using inflatable and wooden decoys shaped like vehicles and weapons systems, such as HIMARS, to deceive and divert Lancet attacks.