Ukraine has interceptors for Shahed drones, official assures

Ukraine has the necessary interceptors to counter Iranian-designed Shahed drones, according to officials, who sought to calm rising concern on social media over the country’s drone defence capabilities.

According to Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Andrii Kovalenko, there are interceptors for reactive Shaheds, Caliber.Az reports via Kovalenko’s post on Telegram.

“There are also interceptors for reactive Shaheds, so when various stories about ‘everything is lost’ spread online, nothing is lost. There are certain developments that I think will be announced at the right moment,” he stated.

In an effort to reduce dependence on costly Western missile systems, Ukraine has begun producing its own low-cost interceptor drones. Instead of using US-supplied Patriot missiles that cost around $4 million each or European IRIS-T missiles priced at €400,000 to shoot down Shahed drones worth only $50,000, Ukrainian engineers are developing interceptors that cost between $1,000 and $5,000.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has set a target of producing 1,000 interceptors per day. However, the government has so far signed only four contracts totaling 3 billion hryvnia (€62 million), well below the estimated $6 billion needed to fully scale up production and train additional drone pilots, Politico writes.

Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal said last month that Ukraine is actively building a domestic market for drone interceptors. In parallel, Kyiv has expanded its recruitment program for drone operators, offering two-year contracts and a 1 million hryvnia bonus to new pilots.

While government efforts are ongoing, volunteer organisations have been supplying drone interceptors to Ukraine’s armed forces for over a year, helping to fill critical gaps in the country’s air defence network.

By Sabina Mammadli