How Ukraine could counter Russian Shahed drones
Ukraine has the capacity to scale the production of anti-air UAVs to hunt and destroy Russia’s Iranian-designed Shahed drones, Oleh Katkov, editor-in-chief of Defense Express, told NV Radio on June 26.
This approach would be much more cost-effective compared to traditional surface-to-air missiles or programmable fuse flak shells, he suggested.
“An anti-air drone is something Ukraine can produce on its own,” Katkov said.
“We obviously cannot manufacture enough surface-to-air missiles or programmable warheads for anti-aircraft artillery systems, but we can produce drones. And drones can take down Shaheeds.”
Katkov noted that, based on leaked Russian documentation, in 2023 one Shahed UAV cost Russia roughly $200,000 to manufacture. He believes the price has since increased as the drones have received multiple hardware upgrades, even though the enemy can produce nearly 100 Shaheds a day.
“Anti-air drones offer a significantly cheaper means to counter these threats,” he explained.
“The drone must be a sophisticated product with the ability to operate around the clock in all weather conditions and in swarm formations. It needs machine [AI-enabled] vision or another form of autonomous guidance to hit its target. Without that, an operator controlling one drone gets one chance to take down one Shahed. If they miss, the Shahed gets through.”
Katkov estimates Ukraine could manufacture several hundred interceptor drones per day. However, even if interception rates reach 95 percent, some enemy UAVs would still hit their targets.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
