Ukraine develops interceptor drones to combat Russian air superiority - Bild
Ukraine develops interceptor drones to combat Russian air superiority (photo: Getty Images)
Russia has a significant air superiority in the war against Ukraine. That is why the Ukrainian army is already using wing-type interceptors, reports Bild.
According to Bild, Ukraine is forced to look for an alternative to long-range weapons to eliminate Russian airfields or shoot down Russian aircraft. That is why the Ukrainian military is working on innovative solutions to this problem.
One of the alternatives Kyiv is working on is “anti-drone” drones, which are supposed to stop Russian drones before they reach their destination.
According to Bild, there are currently three stages of development of this weapon. In particular, small drones are being reprogrammed so that they can be used for air combat rather than for reconnaissance or attacking ground targets.
Such drones destroy about 50 Russian reconnaissance drones every week and even shoot down several kamikaze drones. The problem with small drones, however, is that they can only fly for a few kilometers - especially at high altitudes - and Russian reconnaissance aircraft can easily evade them.
Because of this, Ukraine has begun developing so-called “fixed-wing interceptors,” or fixed-wing drones that can pursue their Russian opponents at a distance of up to 60 kilometers at an altitude of up to four kilometers.
“Anti-drones” are already being tested. The main goal of Ukraine and its partners is to create “killer drones” capable of intercepting and destroying Russian long-range drones such as the Geran-1 and Geran-2, copied from Iranian models.
According to the newspaper, to be effective, Ukrainian drones must reach a speed of at least 200 km/h and have a long range of at least 200 kilometers, preferably 500 kilometers. Ukraine hopes to be able to move to the third phase of its counter-drone program no later than 2025.
Drone production in Ukraine
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has significantly increased drone production. In particular, it has created unique naval drones that attack Russian ships.
In December last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in 2024, Ukraine plans to produce and hand over one million FPV drones to the Armed Forces.
Ukrainian defense manufacturers also launched mass production of attack drones with a range of over 1000 km. Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had created drones that could fly up to 1300 km. But, in his opinion, drones will not replace missiles.
