Thousands of Russian suicide drones advance. Russian Shahed drone attacks have intensified in recent weeks, with Moscow increasing both the volume and changing tactics of its aerial assaults, making Ukraine’s defense more challenging, reports Defense Express.

Russian strikes are now more concentrated, with Shahed drones flying at higher altitudes, beyond the reach of conventional small arms fire. Additionally, Russia has ramped up production of Shahed drones to about 2,700 units per month. Decoy drones have become almost indistinguishable from combat ones.

Ukrainian air-defense drones have already proven effective against Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, which conduct reconnaissance. Ukraine can produce these drones en masse—they are significantly cheaper than Shaheds, which cost around $193,000 each, though more expensive than typical FPV drones.

Analysts emphasize that air-defense drones require upgrades to better counter Shaheds: installing night-vision cameras and new control systems to reduce operator skill dependence.

Improving targeting systems is critical, potentially using radio-command guidance, semi-active lasers, acoustic sensors, or visual detection.

Challenges remain around activation time, flight duration, speed, altitude, and weather conditions, as Shaheds can attack even in rain, snow, or fog.

A key advancement is shifting to a remote, rather than contact-based, target destruction system.

As a result, upgraded Shahed interceptors will be more complex and costly than FPV drones but remain far more affordable than traditional surface-to-air missiles.

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Ukrainian companies are among the world’s top 100 in drone development. Analysts from The Defense Post have published a list of the top 100 global companies specializing in drone development for air, land, and sea applications.

Ukrainian companies TAF Drones, Ukrspecsystems, and Airlogix made the list, highlighting Ukraine’s innovation, influence, and leadership in the global defense industry.

The Defense Post described this list as a distinctive recognition based on an independent evaluation of unmanned systems manufacturers, taking into account revenue, research and development investments, growth dynamics, and technological prospects.

Importantly, the ranking excludes companies with more than 50% state ownership, as well as those connected to the Russian government or subject to sanctions, Militarnyi reports.

Among the leaders is the Turkish company Aselsan, owned by the Turkish Armed Forces fund but operating with high independence in drone development and international trade.

Ukrainian company TAF Drones ranked 22nd. It specializes in FPV drones, reconnaissance UAVs, and electronic warfare systems. In 2024, it planned to produce 350,000 drones.

Ukrspecsystems, a manufacturer of military drones and electronics, took the 65th position.

Airlogix ranked 84th with its unmanned aviation system, HOR, designed for reconnaissance and artillery spotting. The UAV flies for 2–2.5 hours, has a range of 150 km, and supports communication at distances of 30–40 km.