Overview
- The General Staff said on Tuesday that over the past three months Ukraine has intercepted nearly 60% of Russian Geran-4 jet-powered attack drones, with some attacks reaching about an 80% shoot-down rate.
- Fighter jets — including F-16s, Mirages and MiG-29s — now play a leading role in shooting down fast jet drones by engaging them in flight before they reach targets.
- Ukraine is shifting focus to short-range air defense systems such as Gepard, Shilka, Skynex, Skyranger and Terrahawk Paladin and using mobile teams with machine guns and MANPADS because stocks of longer-range guided missiles are limited.
- Domestic interceptor prototypes and lower-cost interceptor drones have begun test flights and have reportedly shot down dozens of Geran-class drones, but mass production and wide deployment are still pending.
- The threat remains elevated because Russia is expanding production and fielding faster Geran-5 variants that fly higher and quicker, which complicates detection and keeps pressure on Ukraine’s stretched defenses.