Jet-Powered Geran Drones Cruise at 7 KM to Outsmart Air Defenses

Russian jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones are increasingly flown at high cruise altitudes around 7 km to penetrate Ukrainian air defenses, shifting from their traditional low-altitude approach. This high-altitude profile makes them visible to radars and places them beyond the reach of many short- and mid-range systems (e.g., Gepard up to ~3.5 km, Skyranger 35 up to ~4 km, Stinger ~3.5 km, Piorun ~4 km, Mistral ~6 km), while engaging at 7 km would require longer-range options such as Buk/M-variants or IRIS-T SLM, or fighter aircraft, which are costly and limited in missiles. The piece highlights the economic and strategic challenges of countering such targets and suggests that defenses may need to rely more on higher-end SAMs or air superiority assets.