Molniya

American

[mohl-nee-uh, mawl-nyi-yuh] / ˈmoʊl ni ə, ˈmɔl nyɪ yə /

noun

one of a series of Soviet communications satellites.

Etymology

Origin of Molniya

From the Russian word Mólniya literally, lightning

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One of the key elements has been the Molniya, or Lightning, drone, a cheap, fixed-wing unmanned flying vehicle with a range of more than 30 miles.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Institute for the Study of War warned in mid-January that since Russia had begun equipping the cheap kamikaze Molniya-2 drones with Starlink, their battlefield efficiency had increased "dramatically".

From BBC

As well as fiber-optic drones, Russian units are using Lancet fixed-wing drones with a range of up to 25 miles, and growing numbers of the cheaper Molniya models.

From The Wall Street Journal

A full-size model of the plane was presented at a closed pavilion during a Russian military forum last year and the project is now under development, said the general director of the Molniya research-to-production facility.

From Reuters

“The goal has now been set and the development of a multi-use civilian complex with an orbital plane is in full swing,” Olga Sokolova was quoted as saying in comments posted on Molniya’s website.

From Reuters

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023