Ukraine spent three years learning to catch Russian drones—so Russia made them fly faster

Russia is sending increasingly fast, jet-powered drones against Ukrainian cities, moving beyond the slower Iranian Shahed-238 it previously fielded as Geran-3. The Geran-4 and Geran-5 represent newer, faster models. Ukraine's expensive air-defense missiles have proven effective at intercepting cruise missiles, but the strain now falls on Ukraine's cheaper interceptor drones, which were designed to catch slower Shaheds.

The shift towards speed has Russia producing roughly 3,000 jet-powered Geran drones per month by August. While Ukraine's conventional air defense handles the slower drones, the faster, jet-powered variants pose a challenge. Interceptor drones, which Ukraine relies on, struggle to keep up with this speed, as their design is not suited for such high velocities.

New technical solutions will be needed to address this issue, potentially requiring significant investment in research and development. Ukraine has already begun testing four new interceptor drone systems capable of reaching speeds of 450 kilometers per hour, in response to the growing threat from Russia's faster drones.