Ukraine's commander in chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated Russia plans to increase the share of jet-powered attack drones to 50% of its long-range strikes. These faster, harder-to-intercept drones present new challenges for Ukraine's current air defense systems, which primarily use propeller-driven Shaheds.
Russia's potential shift towards faster, jet-powered drones could significantly challenge Ukraine's air defense capabilities, potentially increasing the effectiveness of Russian long-range strikes and impacting the course of the conflict.
Russia is reportedly planning to significantly increase its use of jet-powered Shahed drones, aiming for them to constitute 50% of its long-range attacks against Ukraine, according to Ukraine's commander in chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi. These turbojet-powered uncrewed systems, such as the Geran-3 and Geran-4, are considerably faster and more challenging for current Ukrainian air defense systems to intercept compared to the propeller-driven Shahed-136 drones that Russia has been using extensively. Syrskyi noted that the enemy is continuously evolving its UAV tactics, increasing both the quantity and quality of its drones. While he did not provide specific evidence, he stated that this shift presents new challenges requiring a timely response. Ukraine's current defense strategy involves a combination of electronic warfare, mobile machine-gun fire groups, interceptor missiles, and specialized interceptor drones. In May alone, Ukrainian forces reportedly used interceptor drones to take down 3,500 Russian long-range strike and decoy drones. However, the higher speeds of turbojet Gerans, potentially exceeding 300 mph, could overwhelm the capabilities of Ukraine's interceptor drones, which cost between $2,500 and $6,000 each. Ukrainian drone advisors have urged local manufacturers to focus on developing solutions specifically to counter these more advanced turbojet drones.