Ukraine bets on interceptor drones as cheap air shield - Reuters
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine is considering interceptor drones as an affordable alternative to air defense missiles, whose stocks are depleted. President Zelenskyy stated the need for $6 billion to finance the production of 1,000 drones per day.
Interceptor drones have the potential to become a cheap and accessible alternative to Ukraine's use of Western or Soviet air defense missiles, whose stocks are depleted due to the allies' inability or unwillingness to replenish them. Reuters writes about this, UNN reports.
Details
The publication reminds that last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Kyiv needs $6 billion to finance the production of interceptor drones, "setting a goal of 1,000 per day."
In the last two months alone, one Ukrainian charity that supplies aerial interceptor drones claims its devices have shot down about 1,500 drones that Russia sent to scout the battlefield or bomb Ukrainian cities.
It is indicated that such drones are several times cheaper to use than Western or Soviet air defense missiles.
In three and a half years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, drones have transformed from an auxiliary tool into one of the main means of warfare for both sides. To pursue them, interceptor drones must be faster and more powerful than those that have already revolutionized long-range precision strikes and aerial reconnaissance.
According to Sam Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, the Russian military is increasingly complaining about the effectiveness of large Ukrainian interceptors, "this will accelerate, and in the coming weeks it will become more and more ubiquitous."
Recall
In July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed to prepare a Technological Headquarters for drones, emphasizing that there is an approved plan - to reach the number of 500-1000 interceptors per day.