Ukraine’s top war charity names only way to save $25,000 to $4 million each time cheap Russian jet-powered drone is shot down

Saving $25,000 to $4 million each time a cheap Russian jet-powered drone is shot down hinges on a single solution: interceptor drones. Serhii Sternenko, head of Ukraine's top war charity, explained on Telegram that these drones are the most affordable option for air defense. Russia's Geran drones now possess characteristics of small cruise missiles, with speed increasing in response to Ukrainian countermeasures.

Former commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi noted the shift, calling the Geran a "missile in all but name." Sternenko leads a charity that has purchased 291,502 FPV drones, aiding Ukraine's military in downing over 12,954 aerial targets. The charity detailed the costs of three methods to kill a Geran: aircraft (F-16, MiG-29, Su-27, Mirage 2000) ranging from $25,000 to $1.2 million per kill; surface-to-air and shoulder-fired systems (IRIS-T, NASAMS, Vampire, Avenger) costing $30,000 to $4 million; and interceptor drones from $2,000.

While all methods are necessary, interceptor drones prove most cost-effective, protecting key sites at a lower price. The charity emphasizes that no single tool suffices and that interceptor drones are key to affordable air defense, allowing for targeting higher-priced threats with limited resources. The charity is working with Ukrainian manufacturers to counter drones resembling small cruise missiles, providing a cheaper alternative to existing defense methods.