Why Ukraine’s air defense can’t shoot down all «Shaheds»: Expert explains

Russia is constantly adapting its tactics for using Shahed-type kamikaze drones during mass attacks on Ukrainian cities. The enemy increasingly launches UAVs simultaneously from different directions, varies flight altitudes, evades air defense and electronic warfare systems, and concentrates drones before sudden dives onto targets.

This was explained by radio technology specialist Serhii Beskrestnov (callsign «Flash»).

«Now they approach cities from all sides at high altitudes, gather around, and then strike simultaneously — 50 to 70 at a time. No air defense system in the world can handle such a load, ” Beskrestnov emphasized.

According to the expert, this tactic causes unprecedented overload for air defense systems. Even advanced Western systems capable of intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles lack experience dealing with massive simultaneous drone attacks.

«I’ve spoken with Western colleagues — they know how to counter missiles but don’t know how to defend against 300 or 400 drones at once, ” he added.

Recently, drones have been flying at varying altitudes: sometimes extremely low, sometimes very high — beyond the reach of standard air defense systems. The enemy actively studies the positions of mobile fire teams and uses combined attack scenarios to bypass defenses.

Despite this, Ukrainian countermeasures — including electronic warfare (EW) systems — still manage to destroy a significant number of drones. However, effectiveness is gradually declining due to the enemy’s evolving tactics.