New jet-powered «Shaheds»: Military man explains how Ukraine can respond

Ukraine is exploring the possibility of designing and producing jet-powered interceptor drones in response to Russia’s creation of jet-powered «Shaheds.»

This was stated by Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the 429th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment «Achilles, ” in an interview with Radio NV.

«What will the enemy do next? They’ve already set the goal of making „Shaheds“ jet-powered. What does that mean? It means they will move at higher speeds. As a result, the interceptor drones we currently have in significant numbers will become ineffective, because they won’t be able to catch up with a jet-powered „Shahed“, ” the officer explained.

According to him, both Ukrainian manufacturers and those from partner countries are already working on the development, testing, and eventual field use of jet-powered interceptors, with the aim of putting them into service.

Fedorenko also notes a downside to this situation — the enemy is dictating the rules of the game.

«But the positive side is that we’re not in a position where we don’t know what to do. There’s a clear path forward: we just need to scale our capabilities in time, mobilize and train people, and properly organize a layered air defense system, ” Yuriy Fedorenko concluded.