All articles tagged with #shahed
Ukraine says it successfully tested a new interceptor designed to counter Russia’s fast jet-powered drones, hitting a Shahed target but noting that the control system still requires refinements; Zelensky framed the test as progress in developing affordable, rapid interceptors amid a surge in jet drone attacks, with Kyiv continuing to push for more capable weapons and occasional use of F-16s while development proceeds.
Over four days, Russia fired about 1,500 drones into Ukraine, roughly 800 of them jet-powered Shahed variants (Geran‑4/5) traveling at 200–250 mph, making them harder to intercept and prompting daytime air alerts; a Geran‑4 strike hit a Kyiv-area ammunition depot killing 38, as Kyiv and its allies race to develop faster interceptors to counter the jet-powered threat.
Ukraine codified the Tsyklop interceptor drone, offering two variants (a cheaper, slow-target model and a higher-performance version for fast, altitude-flying Shaheds). With about a 1 m wingspan and roughly 1.5 hours of endurance, Tsyklop V2 has reportedly destroyed over 100 air targets, including a Russian Shahed over Kursk, by exploiting altitude to outmatch faster, jet-powered drones and joining a rapidly expanding Ukrainian interceptor fleet.
A Ukrainian drone unit posted an unverified video reportedly showing American-made Merops interceptors chasing a Shahed drone, underscoring the move toward a government-owned, mass-producible counter-drone system. The U.S. Army is launching a Low-Cost Interceptor program to let multiple manufacturers build the design, reducing dependence on Perennial Autonomy. Merops costs about $15,000 per unit, versus Shahed drones priced at roughly $30,000–$50,000, and has claimed to down thousands of drones, though some recent tests reported failures. NATO allies Romania and Lithuania have deployed Merops, highlighting a broader push to scale affordable drone defense; Ukraine also relies on cheap domestic drones in the conflict.
Ukraine's Vyriy Industries and NOCTIS unveiled the ZIRKA interceptor drone, designed to automatically detect, track and neutralize Shahed drones, with speeds over 340 km/h, altitude up to 6 km, range of 30 km, and up to 20 minutes in the air, priced at about $2,000 per unit. A more advanced ZIRKA 2.0 is in development, and Ukraine is deploying other interceptors like LITAVR.
Defense Express reports that, amid Ukrainian strikes on fuel infrastructure, Russia used about 545,000 liters of gasoline in May to power long-range drones: roughly 4,900 Shahed-type Geran-2 drones at an average 105 liters each plus about 32,000 liters for decoy Gerberas; by June 26, about 3,100 Shahed-2 drones were launched in 26 days, estimated at ~329,000 liters for Shaheds and ~21,000 liters for Gerberas, totaling ~350,000 liters for the month so far.
Ukrainian drone developers are turning the Soviet-era Antonov An-28 turboprop into an airborne interceptor carrier, launching quadcopter interceptors such as Skyfall’s P1-Sun and Wild Hornets’ STING from wing pylons to shoot down Shahed drones in combat. The inexpensive, airstrip-free setup lets crews reach threats quickly and scale interceptor missions, reflecting a broader push to counter faster loitering munitions as Russia develops newer drones like Geran-3/5.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces say a Sting interceptor was launched from an unmanned sea vehicle to shoot down a Russian Shahed drone, marking the first sea-based interception of a Shahed and potentially bolstering defenses of cities like Odesa amid ongoing drone attacks.
Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces conducted the first-ever interception of a Russian Shahed-type drone using an interceptor drone launched from a sea-based unmanned platform, carried out by the 412th Nemesis Brigade in the maritime zone. The move marks greater naval–air drone integration as Kyiv counters Moscow's drone campaigns, with Ukraine reporting thousands of aerial targets destroyed in early April, including Shahed-type drones.
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.