New Ukrainian Drone Built to Take Down Jet-Powered Shaheds

Ukrainian defense firm SkyFall said Wednesday it has developed an interceptor drone designed to take down Russia's jet-powered Shaheds. Moscow is using these faster attack drones more regularly, the company said.

SkyFall designed the JetKiller for speed and maneuverability to catch jet-powered Shaheds. The P1-SUN JetKiller has a top flight speed of 370 kmph, or 230 mph, at maximum altitudes of 9,000 meters, roughly 30,000 feet, SkyFall said. The company added that the drone can stay airborne for 15 minutes with a 500-gram explosive payload and can be configured with cameras for day or night operations.

Ukrainian interceptors were originally built to counter the Geran-1 and Geran-2, Russia's versions of the Iranian propeller-driven Shahed. Those fly at top speeds of about 115 mph. Newer models with jet engines, called Geran-3s, can cruise at 200 mph.

Building cheap drones to counter these faster Shaheds has been an uphill task for Ukraine, Business Insider previously reported. Souped up interceptor drones that have to be mass-producible and often use propellers to reach such speeds require copious fine-tuning. The sheer power needed to push quadcopters to 200 mph and above risks overheating the drones. SkyFall said that would not be a problem with the JetKiller in straight-line flight.

SkyFall said the JetKiller is equipped with an AI-based terminal guidance system. It is a targeting algorithm that guides the drone as it approaches its quarry. Business Insider reported that such tech has increasingly appeared in Ukrainian drones this year. The system "allows the interceptor to detect and lock onto enemy targets faster than the human eye at ranges of up to 1 kilometer," SkyFall said.

A company spokesperson, identified only by his call sign Ares for security purposes, told Business Insider that the JetKiller has destroyed over a dozen "jet-powered threats" on the battlefield. "What's notable is that it's been used already with confirmed intercepts and is reaching mass production," Ares said. SkyFall intends to start mass production of these interceptors in August.

Kyiv has repeatedly said this year that it is prioritizing low-cost interceptor tech to counter Russia's jet-powered drones. Moscow fields at least three major types of attack drones with jet engines, including the Geran-5. Ukrainian intelligence warned in January that the Geran-5 can fly at up to 373 mph.

The JetKiller is now one of the few interceptor drones Ukrainian manufacturers say can fill the role. The Wild Hornets, another drone maker, told Business Insider in May that it is testing a new version of its Sting interceptor designed to destroy jet-powered Shaheds.