As Russian air assaults intensify, Ukraine is accelerating the development and deployment of low-cost drones designed to intercept and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly Iranian-designed Shahed long-range explosive vehicles used by Russia.

Bloomberg reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently met with top military and intelligence officials to address Russia’s increasing aerial assaults and support new drone countermeasures.

“We are also moving in the direction of drone-drone interceptors,” Zelenskyy said, noting the need to complement existing air defenses.

The first publicly available video showing the interception of a Russian Shahed drone with a UAV interceptor emerged on 19 May.

Ukrainian industry shifts toward scalable low-cost defense

Ukraine is scaling up production of UAVs capable of targeting enemy drones, particularly the mass-produced Iranian-designed Shahed 136, known in Russian use as the Geran-2. These drones are increasingly used in long-range strikes, with Kyiv suffering more than 20,000 drone attacks over the last three years.

Kamyshin said interceptor drones are promising but can’t replace other air defenses.

Ukraine still relies on Patriot missiles to stop cruise and ballistic threats, while truck-mounted machine guns struggle against high-flying drones. F-16s are also used to shoot down UAVs.

FPV interceptors

Small FPV drones modified for air-to-air combat are emerging as a key tool in Ukraine’s new aerial doctrine. Ukrainian forces have been widely using them since 2025 against Russian reconnaissance and FPV drones, but not the heavier long-range Shaheds.

Skyfall, one of Ukraine’s leading drone makers, confirmed that its Shrike FPV model is being adapted to intercept enemy UAVs. A company spokesperson said the Shrike, depending on configuration, costs between $300 and $500 and can engage reconnaissance and strike drones.

A video published in April by Ukraine’s 63rd brigade appeared to show Shrikes hitting a Supercam and a Merlin — advanced Russian reconnaissance drones — although the footage could not be independently verified. However, the spokesperson noted that Shrikes can’t target Shaheds, which travel at much higher altitudes.

International companies are also contributing. Origin Robotics, a Latvia-based drone firm, will deliver test UAVs to Ukraine in June. These models are built to approach incoming drones and explode nearby.

“Once it gets close enough to a target, a warhead detonates and the target is hit with fragmentation,” Origin CEO Agris Kipurs told Bloomberg.

Carl Larson, director of Defense Tech for Ukraine, said Ukrainian engineers are developing fixed-wing drones to ram Russian UAVs or deploy recoilless shotguns mid-flight against FPV suicide drones and the bomber drones.