PUBLISHED on August 6, 2025, 8:42 AM EST – Key Points and Summary – To counter Russia’s overwhelming swarms of cheap Shahed drones, Ukraine is deploying a new, cost-effective solution.
-Kyiv is now using small, fast, and disposable interceptor drones designed to physically collide with and destroy incoming threats.
-Costing as little as $1,000 each, these drones provide a sustainable alternative to using expensive Western air defense missiles, which can cost millions of dollars per shot.
-While the innovative tactic is proving effective on the battlefield, Ukraine now faces the significant challenge of scaling up production to meet the immense demand and President Zelenskyy’s ambitious manufacturing goals.
Meet Ukraine’s Answer to the Shahed Drone
As Russia escalates its drone campaigns, Ukraine is preparing to fight back with cheap, fast, and disposable interceptor drones.
Designed to counter the Iranian-made Shahed drones that have terrorized Ukrainian cities and caused major damage to critical infrastructure, the interceptors are intended to provide a more cost-effective solution to a growing problem that is putting strain on Ukraine’s air defenses.
Shahed 131 and 136 drones have formed a major part of Russia’s long-range strike capability since the early days of the invasion. First used in 2022, these loitering munitions are capable of flying long distances before diving into targets with explosive payloads.
The drones were initially imported from Iran, but recent intelligence suggests that Moscow has begun large-scale domestic manufacturing under the guidance of Iranian developers, allowing it to launch swarms of drones on much larger scales than before.
In July alone, Russian forces launched more than 6,200 Shahed drones at targets in Ukraine, followed by an additional 355 in the first few days of August. The sheer volume of these attacks has begun to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, and while Western-supplied systems like the U.S. Patriot and German IRIS-T have proven effective, they are far too costly to use against $50,000 drones.
A single Patriot missile can cost $4 million.
Ukraine Fights Back
The Ukrainian military has responded by developing small, expendable interceptor drones designed to physically collide with incoming threats. Costing between $1,000 and $5,000 each, these new weapons come in both fixed-wing and quadcopter variants.
The interceptors are piloted manually and rely on real-time visual tracking.
Mobile units in Ukraine are already swapping out their heavy machine guns for interceptor drones – and the plan seems to be working. Ukraine’s new drones reportedly reach speeds of up to 330 kilometers per hour and can reach altitudes high enough to meet incoming Shaheds long before they reach the ground.
It’s a necessary change in how Ukraine defends itself.
Speaking to Politico, Ukrainian military consultant Serhii Beskrestnov said that the country’s reliance on Western air defense systems was not sustainable. “We have a critical dependency,” he told the outlet, pointing to the limited number of jets and helicopters available to engage drones in the air. Beskrestnov added that Ukraine’s new drones are addressing this troublesome dependency.
But the plan is not without problems.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ambitious plans for scaling up production, and it could take some time to get there. Meeting his goal of 1,000 drones manufactured per day will be an enormous undertaking, especially with limited resources.
Thus far, Ukraine has signed only four contracts totaling around $62 million for drone production, far short of the estimated $6 billion required to get the job done.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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