New record in sky: Ukraine’s interceptor drones doubled their effectiveness in March
Photo: Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov (Getty Images)
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said that in March, Ukrainian interceptor drones destroyed a record of more than 33,000 enemy drones of various types. According to him, this is twice as many as the month before, according to Fedorov’s post on Telegram.
"Interceptor drones are a Ukrainian innovation that has already become a key part of our air defense. In March alone, interceptors shot down more than 33,000 enemy UAVs of various types, including Shaheds, Gerberas, Molniyas, Zala, Orlans, and others. This is twice as many as last month," Mykhailo Fedorov emphasized.
According to him, one of the main challenges now is jet-powered Shahed drones. He noted that the enemy is scaling up their use, the speed of such targets is increasing, and interception is becoming more difficult.
That is why, as the minister explained, the state, together with manufacturers, is analyzing products and their readiness, identifying bottlenecks, and synchronizing efforts to rapidly scale new technologies.
In particular, on the instructions of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussions covered contracting for 2026, pilot training, testing ranges, the shortage of ground stations, exports, and new performance evaluation criteria within the Army of Drones.
Fedorov also said that Brave1 recently supported 12 technologies under the joint EU grant program EU4UA Defence Tech. Within the program, companies will receive up to €150,000 to develop high-speed interceptors capable of exceeding 450 km/h, as well as modern systems to counter aerial targets.
According to the minister, a number of systemic solutions have already been introduced to develop the interceptor market:
- A unique model for rewarding companies for intercepting Shahed drones has been launched. It was within this experiment that a Shahed was first shot down by an interceptor drone;
- Since 2024, Brave1 has issued more than 40 grants to manufacturers, and today the cluster includes around 100 interceptor drone producers;
- Brave1 Dataroom has been launched — a platform for training and validating artificial intelligence models. Currently, more than 30 companies are testing, validating, and training over 50 AI models to detect and intercept aerial targets at different times of day and in various weather conditions.
During a meeting with manufacturers, Fedorov set two main tasks: to develop and scale jet-powered interceptor drones to counter jet-powered Shaheds, and to create alternative guidance systems for operation in difficult weather conditions.
"The state, under transparent market conditions, is ready to quickly purchase new technologies from manufacturers who effectively complete these tasks and protect Ukraine’s sky," the Defense Minister stressed.
Russia has recently changed its tactics in using Shahed drones — they now often fly at extremely low altitudes, making detection and interception more difficult.
In response, Ukraine is adapting its countermeasures system, with interceptor drones increasingly playing a key role in protecting the sky, specifically designed to destroy enemy aerial targets.
At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already recorded jet-powered UAVs traveling at speeds of 400–500 km/h, as well as "swarm" attacks, which further complicate air defense operations. Ukraine is shooting them down with AIM missiles and other means.
