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FIELD GUIDE / DRONE ATLAS / 01

Tactical reconnaissance · Reusable · reconnaissance

Fixed-wing symbol

ZALA 421-16E / Z-16

An electric Russian reconnaissance flying wing, designated Z-16 (421-16E) in GUR’s catalogue. A UN panel separately identified a downed 421-16E in Libya. These establish two evidence origins and different conflict contexts, while the figures here remain GUR’s declarations. The suffixes E2, EM and E5G name other configurations and are not aliases for this profile.[1][2]

Design origin
Russia[1]
Research edition
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No scaled drawing is provided for this configuration. See the sourced dimensions and their limitations.

Side view · schematic
Schematic top view of the general configuration. Not to scale and not an exact depiction of the model.

Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.

also known as Zala 421-16E, ZALA Z-16, Зала 421-16Е, ZALA 421-16Е

Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.

Press factsheet ↗Source-bound type data ↗

The numbers, with their sources

Intervals preserve the published bounds; they are not statistical confidence intervals. A blank lower or upper bound stays open. Values belong to the named configuration, not every aircraft.

Published flight range

Unknown in reviewed sources

Reported speed

65–110 km/h[1]Zala Z-16 (421-16E) · GUR declared characteristics · Publication year unknown · consulted 2026-11-01
Official report; not an independent test

Take-off mass

≤ 10.5 kg[1]Zala Z-16 (421-16E) · GUR declared characteristics · Publication year unknown · consulted 2026-11-01
Published upper limit

Body length

Unknown in reviewed sources

Wingspan

2.815 m[1]Zala Z-16 (421-16E) · GUR declared characteristics · Publication year unknown · consulted 2026-11-01
Official report; not an independent test

Endurance

≥ 4 h[1]Zala Z-16 (421-16E) · GUR declared characteristics · Publication year unknown · consulted 2026-11-01
Published lower limit

Communication distance

≥ 75 km[1]Zala Z-16 (421-16E) · GUR declared characteristics · Publication year unknown · consulted 2026-11-01
Published lower limit

Same-class research profiles · published range, km · open bounds remain open

Size in everyday terms

Across its wings: shorter than one small car’s length (2.815 m wingspan).

One car length here is 3.821 m: MINI Cooper 3 door, March 2020 specification.

Catalog dimensions and sources: 1

One scale. Different machines.

No scaled drawing is provided for this configuration. See the sourced dimensions and their limitations.

Human height is an illustrative 1.8 m; bus length an illustrative 12 m. Car length uses the cited MINI specification. Vehicle heights and drone side contours are schematic. Top views preserve published length and span; an absent dimension is never guessed.

One car length here is 3.821 m: MINI Cooper 3 door, March 2020 specification.

In our archive

Not yet named as a model in this archive — sources usually say only “drone” or name the family.

Browse this category · Tactical reconnaissance

Where this type appears

Counts follow model/family links in the archive. A general register link does not identify a model.

Family & configurations

ZALA 421-16E / Z-16

No sourced family relationship recorded in this edition. Similar roles do not establish a common design.

Form, sound & identification limits

  • The UN panel’s annex is an imagery-based identification of a 2020 loss near Ain Zara. It is independent of GUR’s catalogue but does not measure endurance, payload or link reach. The annex’s event dates are reported as written; no incident record is created from this background research.[2]
  • GUR’s 2815 mm wingspan converts exactly to 2.815 m. Its 4+ hours and 75+ km link are open lower limits, not fixed values. No flight range is supplied, and the communication distance must not fill that gap.[1]
  • ZALA’s reconnaissance aircraft and Lancet loitering munitions share a corporate ecosystem, not an airframe identity. A generic “ZALA” mention cannot select this exact model. An electric flying-wing silhouette alone is also insufficient for identification.[1][2]

Shape or sound alone cannot identify a drone. Follow local public-safety alerts; do not approach wreckage.

No licensed, model-attested recording is available in our sound library.

What does it cost?

Published USD figures use different price bases and years. Airframes, export packages and support are not equivalent. These are not current offers or verified production costs.

Unknown in reviewed sources

Countermeasures in public analysis

No type-specific, independently supported summary is included in this edition.

Source notebook

  1. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine · Zala Z-16 (421-16E): catalogue

    Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Official report; not an independent test

  2. UN Panel of Experts on Libya · S/2022/427, annex 40: ZALA 421-16E near Ain Zara

    Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Approximate / analyst compilation

    Consulted via search index; direct page unavailable

Cite this profile

DroneLedger. ZALA 421-16E / Z-16. Research edition 2026-11-01. https://droneincidents.com/drones/zala-421-16e/

Permanent research edition