Ukraine's Three-Point Plan to Defeat Russian Drones

Ukraine is steaming ahead with developing interceptor drones designed to thwart Russia's own uncrewed vehicles before they can strike key Ukrainian targets.

Kyiv has a three-stage plan in place to build up its stockpiles of drones able to battle Moscow's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in midair, including Russia's destructive Shahed loitering munitions, German newspaper Bild reported on Sunday.

The rapid and often-experimental development of drones in Ukraine has defined the more than two-and-a-half years of conflict in the country. Kyiv and Moscow have constantly battled it out to pull ahead in the drone race, and in the competition to cultivate counter-drone strategies.

Ukraine has already implemented the first phase of its plan, knocking Russian reconnaissance and strike quadcopters out of Ukraine's skies with its own small drones, Bild reported.

Reports from Ukraine have repeatedly appeared to show Ukrainian drones, notably first person-view (FPV) drones, engaging Russian UAVs in midair. Footage has also shown Moscow's drones crashing into Ukrainian UAVs.

Ukraine is also reportedly cultivating its stockpiles of fixed-wing drones that can intercept Russian ones at a distance of up to 60 kilometers, or just over 37 miles. The fixed-wing UAVs are being tested, according to the Bild report, and are expected to be deployed later this year.

Ukrainian company Besomar told Ukrainian military outlet Militarnyi on Saturday that it had developed a low-cost "kamikaze interceptor" drone also able to conduct reconnaissance missions. Images published by the outlet appear to show a fixed-wing interceptor drone.

The third prong in the strategy, according to Bild, is developing speedy, long-range "drone killers" to take out Moscow's Iranian-designed arsenal.

Russia has made extensive use of Iranian Shahed drones and the Russian-made versions, referred to as Geran UAVs, to strike Ukraine in the full-scale war.

On Monday, Ukraine's air force said Moscow had launched eight Shahed drones at Ukraine overnight, with air defenses shooting down six of the UAVs. Two drones were "lost" in unspecified locations, the air force said, pointing to electronic warfare systems that are scattered across the country.

Kyiv is hoping to develop Shahed "drone killers" with a range of up to 500 kilometers, or just over 300 miles, getting the interceptor drones operational by next year, according to the German outlet.

The driving force behind this push, the outlet reported, is the steep cost of interceptor missiles that are currently tasked with shooting down the likes of Shahed drones.

With the devices cheap to manufacture and deploy, Shahed drone strikes have often forced Ukraine to use up more expensive resources to shoot down the incoming UAVs. Advanced air-defense missiles, such as those fired by U.S.-provided Patriot systems, can have price tags well into the millions of dollars.

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