Russia's once-rare turbojet drones that fly twice as fast are now attacking Ukraine by the thousands

Russia has increased its use of jet-powered drones against Ukraine, with over 2,000 such drones launched per month, according to Ukrainian air force officials. This surge in attacks, which began this summer, has seen the Kremlin launch 7,700 turbojet drones into Ukraine so far, a significant jump from the 350 in June. The latest surge has seen 1,900 of the faster, more advanced drones launched in August alone.

This shift suggests that Russia has been able to acquire engines and electronics it cannot produce domestically, as Ukrainian intelligence has reported. The rapid increase in jet-powered drone attacks has posed a serious challenge for Ukraine's air defenses, with the country only able to intercept about 60% of these threats compared to 90% when primarily facing propeller drones.

While Ukraine has begun developing advanced jet interceptor drones, their production is still in its early stages. Meanwhile, the attacks have caused significant damage to Ukrainian cities, with only a small number of jet interceptor drones successfully countering the Russian threat.