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Russian jet-powered one-way attack drones could eventually reach speeds of 800 to 900 kilometers per hour, further complicating Ukraine’s efforts to intercept them, a senior Ukrainian Air Force official said.
Col. Yurii Cherevashchenko, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, made the assessment on October 6 during a meeting of a Ukrainian parliamentary commission. He said Russian jet-powered drones currently reach speeds of about 600 km/h but could become significantly faster.
“We predict an increase in speed to 800-900 km/h,” Cherevashchenko said.
Cherevashchenko noted the faster Russian drones would give Ukrainian air defenses less time to detect, track and intercept them.
The assessment came after Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said on September 27 that a new Geran-type drone had briefly accelerated to about 800 km/h before slowing to roughly 500 km/h over the Odessa region. Kovalenko said the episode could indicate testing of a new jet engine.
Russia has sharply increased its use of jet-powered drones since July, according to Cherevashchenko. They now account for about 40 percent of Russian drones used in attacks on Ukraine, with their share reaching as high as 60 percent in some areas. The Ukrainian Air Force expects jet-powered drones could eventually account for about 80 percent of the Russian attack-drone fleet.
The growing speed of the drones is driving Ukraine to develop faster interception systems, as existing defenses designed for slower German-type drones face a shrinking window to respond to incoming targets. These efforts have seen very little success so far, and Cherevashchenko said that delivery of jet-powered interceptors may not begin before the end of November.
Cherevashchenko’s remarks confirm that Russia is leading the drone race in Ukraine, and constantly working to further expand the gap.
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