Jet-powered drones pose a new threat to Ukraine – can they be stopped? — SkimNews
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- Zelenskyy said on 30 August that over half of Russia's deployed attack drones are now jet-powered Geran-4 models, originally licensed from Iran's Shahed Aviation Industries, replacing older 100–150 km/h versions.
- The Geran-4 drones carry multiple countermeasures against interception: a shrouded heat signature to defeat heat-seeking defenses, onboard electronic-warfare systems, and rear-facing cameras that detect pursuing drones and trigger evasive maneuvers.
- Ukraine's Brave1 defense innovation unit is testing four interceptor drone variants — winged jet drones, an impeller-propelled craft, advanced quadcopters, and a fourth design — all needing speeds of at least 450 km/h with autonomous AI-driven targeting.
- A Brave1 spokesperson told New Scientist the core engineering challenge is artificial-intelligence automation and terminal guidance, not the physical hardware, because high speed compresses the window between detection and impact to seconds.
- Kyiv resident Olexandra Shekhireva said almost every Shahed now passing over her neighborhood is a jet-powered model, and the sound has changed from a motorcycle engine to something plane-like and far louder.
- Shekhireva said Russian attack methods shift every two weeks and that interceptor crews are adapting rapidly, though she personally fears ballistic missiles more than drones after a Zircon strike condemned her residential building.
- Older copter-type interceptor drones used by Ukraine cannot reliably catch 500 km/h targets, which is why Brave1 is developing jet and impeller-driven platforms as a direct technological response.
Why it matters: With Russia shifting the majority of its Shahed fleet to 500 km/h jet-powered variants, Ukraine's existing copter-type interceptors are being outrun — and the four AI-guided designs now in testing at Brave1 must clear field trials quickly, because the bottleneck per engineers is software automation, not hardware. If interception rates keep falling, more jet-powered drones will reach civilian targets like the petrol stations Zelenskyy cited.
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