Zelensky announced successful interception of a jet-powered Shahed

Ukraine has successfully tested another domestic interceptor designed to combat Russian jet-powered strike drones. During the test, it hit a Shahed drone, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.

The results of the tests were reported to the head of state by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykhailo Drapaty, on September 15. According to Zelensky, the development has already demonstrated the ability to hit jet-powered drones, but the control system needs to be improved before full-scale use.

"The Shahed was successfully hit, but some aspects of the interceptor's control need to be refined. We continue the work – we need more time," the president said.

Zelensky did not disclose the interceptor's name, its characteristics, range, or developer. He also did not say when the system could move from testing to serial production and mass deployment.

The development of such means has become one of the priorities of Ukraine's air defense amid Russia's expanded use of jet-powered strike UAVs. Back on September 3, after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, Zelensky stated that Ukrainian companies had already created prototypes of high-speed interceptors and that the main task is to bring them to the required effectiveness and scale up production.

The president emphasized at the time that development processes must be accelerated, as Russian forces are changing the characteristics and tactics of using strike drones.

The relevance of such systems has grown significantly in recent weeks. During a massive attack on the night of September 17, Russia used 157 strike UAVs of the Shahed type and drones of other types, and according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, more than half of the Shaheds were jet-powered.

During this attack, Ukrainian air defense shot down or suppressed 124 drones of the Shahed, Gerbera, and other modifications, as well as seven targets of the "Banderol"/"Dan-T" types. The Air Force did not specify exactly how many jet-powered Shaheds were destroyed.

Unlike conventional strike drones with piston engines, jet-powered vehicles have significantly higher speed. This reduces the time to detect a target and for air defense response, creating a need for faster and relatively inexpensive interceptor systems.

Thus, the successful test of the Ukrainian development is currently an intermediate stage: the interceptor has already confirmed its ability to hit a jet-powered target, but its control is still being refined. The completion dates for development and the start of mass production have not been officially announced.

Based on materials: Volodymyr Zelensky, Office of the President of Ukraine, Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine