BI: Ukrainian Drones Rewrite The Rules Of War In The Skies
- 19.10.2025, 10:16
NATO is watching closely to see if interceptors will become the new defense standard.
What sounded like military science fiction a year ago - launching small quadrocopters to intercept enemy attack and reconnaissance drones - has now become a key element of Ukraine's air defense. And the tactic could change the perception of cheap defenses against mass attacks, writes Business Insider.
The idea was born out of desperation: expensive air defense systems and missiles were running out, and waves of Russian Shaheds and other attack drones were making devastating strikes on cities and civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian engineers have converted ordinary quadrocopters into interceptors - inexpensive machines capable of shooting down enemy drones in the sky.
Makers and aid programs report that these interceptors have already shot down hundreds of targets: during one recent bombing raid, about 150 attack drones. Overall, projects like Dronopad and manufacturers working with sponsors declare thousands of interceptions.
Effectiveness, price and mass production
Interceptors in Ukraine cost from a few thousand dollars - according to developers, some models are priced at around $2,000 to $6,000 per unit - while a single missile for advanced air defense systems can cost around $1 million. This saves expensive air defense assets to combat cruise and ballistic threats. Ukraine has an ambitious goal of producing up to 1,000 such interceptors a day.
"As the drone threat has grown, so has the pressure on defenders on both sides to use relatively cheap and simple countermeasures," said Sam Bendett, an adviser to the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses.
How it works in practice
Intercept is a complex command-and-control operation. The radar operator detects and tracks the target, relays the coordinates to the interceptor pilot, and the latter must catch up and hit the fast target drone in a matter of minutes. Some Shaheds fly up to 185 km/h, and new jet variants fly even faster, which puts engineers in a constant search for improvements.
The designs are very different: from small gliders to vehicles with a warhead, developing more than 300 km/h. One Ukrainian design, the Wild Hornets' Sting, carries a warhead and, according to their data, has been used in hundreds of interceptions.
"The drone itself was very difficult to make," says Alex Roslin, coordinator of foreign support for the Wild Hornets. Success rates vary, from 30% for some models to 80-90% in the best cases. Both the characteristics of the vehicle and the skills of the pilot are important.
Training and the human factor
Interceptor pilots are a highly specialized field. Training schools train thousands of students, but only a small fraction master interceptor piloting.
According to instructor Yeti of Drone Fight Club, out of about 5,200 students trained, only a few dozen successfully test-fly interceptors. The reasons are both the complexity of the technique and the lack of time for long training under frontline conditions.
Alliance policy and interest
The innovation has caught the attention of NATO and Western partners. Admiral Pierre Vandieu, who is coordinating the alliance's transformation efforts, called the interceptors one of the "promising" solutions for defending against mass drone attacks. The UK last month announced joint programs to support and develop thousands of low-cost interceptors with Ukrainian partners.
Russia is modernizing its strike vehicles, so Ukrainian engineers are already working on new generations of interceptors and a system to counter faster reactive targets.
"This will be the next stage of the competition," warns Taras Tymochko of the ComeBackAlive Foundation.