All articles tagged with #shahed
President Zelenskyy said Ukrainian personnel used domestically built interceptor drones to shoot down Iranian Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries, underscoring Kyiv’s leadership in counter‑drone warfare and its offer to share cost‑effective air‑defense tech with partners in exchange for funding and weapons.
Ukraine is piloting a government-backed plan that lets private companies run air-defense assets—such as interceptor drones and Sky Sentinel turrets—under military command to protect critical infrastructure from Russian drones and ease burden on frontline troops. Early results in Kharkiv report several enemy drones shot down, with 13 more companies preparing to join the effort. The program involves training, certification, and temporary weapon transfers from the Ministry of Defense, and officials say it could scale defense capabilities without diverting frontline units, though experts warn of integration challenges and risks like fratricide and coordination gaps.
Ukraine’s air defenses repelled a large daytime Russian drone assault, downing 541 of 556 drones with a combination of manned aviation, anti-aircraft systems, electronic warfare and ground-based missiles. Fifteen drones hit cities across the country, injuring at least 32 people in Lviv and killing two in Ivano-Frankivsk, with additional hits reported in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi. Russia continues a near-daily drone campaign as Kyiv leverages extensive counter-drone capabilities.
Ukraine’s 190th Training Center’s Litavr drone-interceptor, built with F-Drones, has achieved remote interception of Shahed drones, allowing pilots to operate interceptors from safe locations via internet-linked control. The system enables country-wide defense with a 350 km/h speed, up to 15 minutes of flight, an official 36 km radius (practically 60 km), and a 500 g warhead, and it already destroys hundreds of drones weekly, expanding Ukraine’s defensive options.
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine remains unfazed by Iran’s threats and that Iran’s drone program—which Ukraine says was refined through years of attacks on Ukrainian cities—was tested on Ukraine and is now spreading to the Middle East and beyond. He alleges Tehran aided Russia’s domestic Shahed drone production and warns Moscow is shifting to mass‑produced drones aimed at saturating air defenses and hitting infrastructure, a strategy with global security and energy implications. Ukraine is sharing air‑defense expertise with partners and pressing for stronger Western pressure on Russia and Iran to curb the threat.
The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. is moving to mass‑produce the Iran‑designed Shahed drone as a low‑cost system called LUCAS, with unit costs around $25,000–$50,000 (about $35,000 in U.S. service). The effort follows Iran’s Shahed‑136 use by Russia in Ukraine and Russia’s help refining the drones; proponents argue cheaper drones and laser defenses could offset the high cost of MQ‑9 Reapers, though lasers face weather limitations.
Axios reports the Trump administration dismissed a Ukrainian offer last year to share battle‑tested anti‑Shahed drone defense tech, only to reverse course recently after Iran’s drone strikes intensified; Kyiv proposed interceptors, radar and ‘drone walls’ hubs to defend U.S. bases, but officials say the plan wasn’t acted on, a potential strategic misstep in confronting Iran’s drone threat.
President Zelenskyy said he spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and offered Kyiv’s help in countering Iranian drones, highlighting Ukraine’s long experience with Shahed drones and the capacity of its interceptor-drone makers to export. The briefing also notes Russian missile and drone strikes that hit Kharkiv, a Swedish seizure of a ship suspected of transporting stolen Ukrainian grain, and ongoing strains on Western air defenses and discussions about U.S. weapon stockpiles and deterrence after the conflict.
The US is sending its Merops counter-drone system to the Middle East, featuring the Surveyor interceptor that has shot down over 1,000 Shahed drones in Ukraine. Interceptors cost about $15,000 each, and trained US and allied personnel will operate the system as a cheaper air-defense option against Iranian drones amid rising regional tensions.
Ukraine’s hard-won counter-drone expertise, developed after years of drone and missile attacks, is in demand as Iran-backed Shahed drones threaten Gulf infrastructure. Kyiv says it intercepts about 90% of Shaheds using interceptor drones and existing air-defenses, while the US and Gulf states seek closer cooperation. Zelensky Signaled talks with Middle Eastern partners and proposed mutual exchanges—Ukraine would share interceptors in exchange for PAC-3 missiles—highlighting how Kyiv’s drone-defense know-how could bolster allies and potentially replenish Western missile stocks amid a widening regional conflict.
Iran’s deployment of thousands of cheap Shahed drones across the Middle East is described by defense experts as an asymmetric strategy to drive up U.S. defense costs and prolong conflict by forcing expensive interceptors to counter inexpensive, hard-to-detect drones; the piece cites comments from Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell and Carnegie Endowment analysts about the strain on air defenses and the uncertain scale of Iran’s drone buildup, alongside recent regional attacks.
A Russian Shahed drone strike hit a Ukrainian passenger train in Kharkiv, killing at least five and prompting Zelenskyy to label it terrorism targeting civilians. Kyiv says the attack used Iranian-made drones with no military target. Some analysts and officials claim Starlink satellite tech aids Russia’s targeting, a claim SpaceX has not confirmed and Musk has rejected, stressing Starlink’s civilian use. The broader day saw 11 people killed across Ukraine as about 165 drones were launched in attacks.
Ukraine is developing low-cost interceptor drones to combat Russian Shahed drones amid ongoing drone attacks, aiming to improve its air defense capabilities and reduce dependency on expensive Western missile systems, while Russia adapts its drone technology in response.
Russia used rocket-powered Shahed-type drones in a massive attack on Kyiv, killing at least eleven people and injuring 135, as they continue to modernize and deploy more sophisticated drones for long-range strikes, challenging Ukraine's air defenses and prompting calls for increased international support.