Russia is 'betting primarily' on jet-powered Shahed drones, pivoting from older models: Ukraine's navy

Aug 04, 2026 11:23 AM - 1 hour ago 1

Night-vision footage shows a jet-powered Shahed drone from behind.

A jet-powered Shahed drone is seen from behind, filmed by a Ukrainian interceptor drone. Serhii Sternenko

Russia has been reducing its usage of accepted long-range onslaught drones successful favour of much advanced, jet-powered ones, the spokesperson for Ukraine's navy said connected Monday.

"The Russians are reducing the number of accepted drones they usage while efficaciously expanding the number of jet-powered drones," said Capt. 3rd Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk, successful an question and reply pinch Ukrainian authorities TV outlet Ukrinform.

"In different words, the Russians are now betting chiefly connected those," he added. "At the aforesaid time, galore different elements of Ukraine's defense and information forces are progressive successful countering them. The aerial unit is perpetually operating successful the south, and that's noticeable moreover from the sea."

Many of the Kremlin's Shahed drones, which travel the creation of Iranian onslaught drones but are manufactured successful Russia, are launched from its confederate territories and occupied Crimea.

Their emblematic formation way into Ukraine runs complete the Black Sea, wherever the Ukrainian navy defends the region and its ports.

Jet-powered drones alert overmuch faster than the Geran-1 and Geran-2, which are Russia's versions of the propeller-driven Shahed.

Moscow's jet-powered Shaheds, dubbed the Geran-3 and Geran-4, person been appearing successful its aerial attacks since the summertime of past year. The much precocious Geran-5, a type of Iran's Karrar drone said to alert astatine speeds of up to 373 miles per hour, made its combat debut successful January.

In June, Ukraine's then-commander successful chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russia plans to yet person 50% of its long-range onslaught drone waves consist of jet-powered systems.

The higher speeds person posed a situation for Ukraine to antagonistic pinch interceptor drones, first-person-view quadcopters that became its inexpensive reply to the Shahed.

Ukrainian interceptor drones person typically flown arsenic accelerated arsenic astir 175 miles per hour, making them excessively slow to drawback much precocious Russian drones. However, immoderate manufacturers opportunity they've been capable to improve their interceptors to scope astir 230 miles per hour, which is astir the apical velocity of a Geran-3.

Pletenchuk said connected Monday that the top hurdle Ukraine faces now is countering Russia's ballistic missiles.

"The main challenge, of course, remains ballistic missiles," he said. "It's nary secret."

Kyiv has said it has been desperately lacking precocious interceptor missiles, astir notably Patriot missiles, to neutralize these high-priority threats.

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Matthew is simply a elder newsman astatine Business Insider's Singapore bureau, chiefly covering defense and really the warfare successful Ukraine is quickly changing conflict exertion and tactics.He joined the squad successful June 2021, antecedently focusing connected net crime and labor, examining really these issues effect modern nine successful Asia, pinch a peculiar accent connected China.In 2024, he won the Singapore Press Club's Young Journalist of the Year Award. His activity from 2023 besides won a metallic grant from the North American Travel Journalists Association and accolades from Longreads.Matthew's erstwhile activity has been featured successful the South China Morning Post, arsenic good arsenic Singaporean news companies TODAY and The Business Times.As a student, Matthew's coverage of migrant workers' nutrition successful Singapore during the COVID pandemic won the SOAP Story of the Month award and the Student Category prize successful the International Labor Organization's 2021 Global Media Competition connected Labour Migration.Selected features:

  • Death connected the Savage Mountain: What really happened connected K2, and why 100 climbers stepped complete a dying man connected their measurement to the summit
  • The atomic weapons era is making a comeback, and experts opportunity we're each not paying attention
  • How nets from a Danish sportfishing colony recovered their measurement into Ukraine's modern war
  • Inside Ukraine's title to crank retired unjammable, fiber-optic drones that tin break done Russia's physics warfare
  • Finding Dora
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