Russia's next big bet in the air war volition apt move former jet-powered Shaheds to a profound arsenal of new cruise missiles, two of Ukraine's most notable drone experts warned on Thursday.
Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov and Serhii Sternenko wrote separately on their Telegram channels concerning the Filin, an 11-foot Russian winged cruise missile that Ukraine's armed forces intellect assistance lately unveiled.
These cheap weapons have better capabilities that would effortlessly overshadow the danger posed by the Shahed, according to the pair, the two former drone advisors to Ukraine's defence ministry.
"The bulk use of this category of airborne assault arm is what awaits us extremely soon," wrote Sternenko, who runs a important foundation that crowdfunds for Ukraine's military, in a Telegram post.
"Then we volition recall the jet Shaheds lone as a small issue compared to this," he added.
Beskrestnov, a drone analyst, stated he had "long predicted that our adversary is betting on cheap cruise missiles for the future, not on jet Shaheds."
He wrote on his Telegram conduit that the Filin can fly faster, maneuver better, and transport a heavier payload than Russia's current turbojet drones,
"They do not need drone ports, many of them can be launched from helicopters and UAVs. And most importantly, they can be produced from Russian components," Beskrestnov added.
A attack at nearly 500 mph for cheap
On Wednesday, Ukraine's armed forces intellect agency, GUR, released extended particulars on the Filin, which it stated Russia had begun deploying at the end of summer 2026.
The Filin, it said, is the "continuation of the trend of the Russian military-industrial complex to create cheap air assault weapons alongside jet drive and dirt launch."
The ground-launched missile can transport a 100kg warhead, and Russia has stated that it can fly at speeds of nearly 500 mph at a range of 745 miles. By comparison, the Kremlin's most advanced jet-powered drone deployed so far, the Geran-5, is known to fly at a maximum speed of 370 mph.
The Filin can additionally fly at "ultra-low altitudes" and as elevated as 3.7 miles, GUR said.
Similar to Russia's Shahed drones, the Filin features a carbon and fiberglass fuselage, alongside several of its parts produced via 3D printing, the intellect assistance added.
And as alongside turbojet Shaheds, GUR additionally stated that the Filin is filled alongside abroad electronics in its escape controller, inertial navigation system, equipment authority unit, and counter-jamming hardware.
The agency listed 35 components from the US, including transistors and converters; 22 from China; and 13 additional from Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the Netherlands.
Notably, GUR stated the Filin's motor is Russian-made, compared to the Chinese engines used on many of Moscow's turbojet drones. The identical motor has been established on another lately unveiled Russian missiles, specified as the air-launched Kover and Monochrome.
Much of Russia's capability to decrease the disbursal of its new cruise missiles is due to its use of business engines and components. Another high-profile Russian missile that additionally uses noncombatant tech is the Banderol, which emerged in the fountain of 2025 and has been straining Ukraine's air defense networks in the final few months.
The Banderol flies additional gradually and has a shorter range than the Filin, but it motionless reaches a max speed of 435 mph, making it much harder for Ukraine to obstruct alongside drones. Its estimated cost is $150,000 per component — concerning a sixteenth the disbursal of a traditional Kh-101 cruise missile — so it's easier to mass-produce.
The common use of weapons akin the Banderol complete the summer has led to fears that Russia volition lean into its tactic, frequently nicknamed "missile spam," to keep pushing Ukrainian air defenses.
"What is the Air Force command doing now to build up countermeasures in advance?" Sternenko wrote on Wednesday concerning the missile threat.
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Matthew is a elder newsman at Business Insider's Singapore bureau. He covers the defence industry, armed forces technology, and evolving strategies in Ukraine, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region.He joined the squad in June 2021, earlier focusing on net infringement and labor, examining how these issues effect contemporary community in Asia, alongside a particular accent on China.Matthew's former activity has been featured in the South China Morning Post, as fine as Singaporean news companies TODAY and The Business Times.
