what is a kamikaze drone

A kamikaze drone, also known as a loitering munition or suicide drone, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a warhead designed to loiter over a target area for a period of time before crashing into the target and detonating its explosives. Unlike traditional missiles, kamikaze drones can hover or "loiter" in the airspace, waiting to identify and engage a target, and their attack can be altered or aborted mid-flight. They are typically smaller, more agile, and harder to detect on radar compared to conventional missiles, and they are often deployed in swarms to overwhelm enemy defenses. These drones are designed to be destroyed upon impact, making them less expensive than reusable UAVs or precision missiles, with costs around $20,000 per unit compared to about $1 million for a precision missile. Kamikaze drones have been used in recent conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war, where both sides have deployed them for strikes on military targets. The name "kamikaze" derives from World War II Japanese pilots who conducted suicide attacks by crashing explosive-laden aircraft into enemy targets