Ukraine Unveils New Drone Interceptors to Counter Russia’s Shaheds
Ukrainian engineers have developed a new low-cost method to counter Russia’s emerging generation of jet-powered Shahed-type drones.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Business Insider.
As Moscow introduces faster strike UAVs to the battlefield, Kyiv is responding with agile interceptor drones designed to neutralize them mid-air.
Recent footage circulating online suggests that the Ukrainian interceptor drone Sting has already successfully downed several Russian jet-driven UAVs.
Analysts note that this marks an important step in addressing growing concerns that Moscow’s upgraded unmanned aircraft may be too fast to defeat using traditional, inexpensive countermeasures.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sunday that Russia has recently fielded 138 new unmanned aerial vehicles, including the Geran-3 – a turbojet variant of the Shahed-238.
With a reported top speed of about 370 km/h, it is significantly faster than the widely used Geran-2/Shahed-136, which averages roughly 180 km/h and remains the backbone of Russia’s long-range strike campaign.
Officials estimate individual Geran-2 units may cost as little as $20,000, making them an inexpensive but destructive tool of attrition warfare.
To counter this, Ukrainian developers are rapidly adapting FPV-style drones into high-speed interceptors capable of closing with and destroying enemy UAVs at a fraction of the cost of traditional surface-to-air missiles.
Most interceptor platforms cost between $2,000 and $6,000, making them an efficient complement to machine-gun crews and other air-defense assets, particularly in large-scale night attacks where Russia deploys swarms of kamikaze drones.
One of the most widely used models, Sting, built by the Ukrainian company Wild Hornets, can reportedly reach speeds of about 345 km/h – just below the estimated velocity of the new Shahed variant.
Ukrainian officials told BI last month that Russia is still experimenting with the Geran-3 and has not yet moved into full-scale production. Deployments so far appear limited, suggesting Moscow is still testing the drone’s performance against Ukrainian air defenses.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukrainian frontline drone operators say artificial intelligence is becoming critical to keeping strike missions on target as electronic warfare intensifies along the contact line.
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