Ukrainian efforts to counter Russia’s high-speed, jet-powered drones have begun to bear fruit, with two low-cost interceptors being prepared for combat use.
The systems are among those developed by half a dozen domestic firms that received a total of 1 billion Ukrainian hryvnias ($22.2 million) in funding in 2025, Ukrainian government defense technology platform Brave1 CEO Andriy Hrytsenyuk said.
The funding supported interceptor development and components such as launchers, seeker heads, and radars.
Under the project’s requirements, each launch must cost no more than $20,000 to 25,000, compared with an estimated $100,000 to 150,000 for a jet-powered Shahed drone.
At around $20,000 per unit, the interceptors would be significantly cheaper than a US-made Stinger missile, which costs several hundred thousand dollars, or the air-launched AIM-9X, priced at roughly $500,000.
They would also cost less than a $35,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System 70mm laser-guided rocket, which Ukraine has adapted for air defense.
“Back in the summer of 2025, once interceptor drones had managed to close the sky to conventional Shaheds, we started looking at where to focus our efforts next,” Hrytsenyuk said.
“That’s when we began funding teams working on solutions to take down jet-powered drones. We’re talking not just about high-speed interceptors, but also anti-aircraft missiles and turrets.”
Jet-Powered Drones
Russia’s growing use of faster, jet-powered Geran drones is challenging Ukraine’s cost-effective air defenses. Initially, Moscow relied on slower, propeller-driven Geran-2 drones, derived from Iran’s Shahed-136, which cost an estimated $70,000 each and could be countered with mobile machine-gun teams and inexpensive interceptor drones.
In February, interceptors accounted for more than 70 percent of Shahed downings over Kyiv.
Jet-powered variants can reach speeds of up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) per hour, making them harder to intercept. Russia has expanded production of the faster Geran-4 and missile-shaped Geran-5, which carries a 90-kilogram (198-pound) warhead, according to Ukrainian military intelligence cited by Militarnyi.
Although Ukrainian interceptors have reportedly downed about 90 percent of older propeller-driven drones, they have been less effective against jet-powered models, prompting Kyiv to develop faster and more affordable countermeasures.
Alongside air defense missile systems, 22 companies have been developing interceptor drones, with 12 receiving state funding, Hrytsenyuk said.
“We’re looking at drone projects with miniature turbojet engines and electric-powered drones with propellers,” he said.
“Another promising approach is to use electric ducted fans, which resemble turbojet engines in design but are powered by batteries.”