Fire and Forget: How to Counter Jet-Powered Drones Effectively

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The Russians are already upgrading their “Shahed” drones to better evade Ukrainian interceptors, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said on Monday, July 28.

He noted that the Russian military is already preparing for the mass deployment of jet-powered drones and is also implementing technologies that enable them to bypass Ukrainian interceptor drones.

This suggests that the era of anti-aircraft drones may be ending before it has truly begun.

An anti-aircraft drone can reach speeds of up to 300 km/h, while a jet-powered “Shahed” can exceed 500 km/h. How can you intercept such a drone with a slower anti-aircraft drone?

In effect, the “Shahed” rocket will become a small cruise missile. Such a weapon must be prevented from reaching urban areas altogether. While it is technically possible to shoot down a Shahed with a machine gun or an anti-aircraft cannon, doing so in time—especially if it is flying at low altitude between buildings—is extremely difficult.

Jet “Shaheed” will have to be intercepted as far away as possible—over open fields. Yes, jet aircraft will help here, but then what will they use to shoot them down?

What’s needed is a universal, inexpensive anti-drone missile that can be deployed from MANPADS, aircraft, and self-propelled SAMs, and operates on a “fire-and-forget” principle.

In cities, mobile teams armed with MANPADS equipped with such missiles will be on duty. They’ll be capable of shooting down both jet-powered and conventional drones.

Long-range anti-aircraft artillery will be necessary to catch what aviation and SAM systems miss on the approaches to urban areas, and to engage high-altitude targets.

Ultimately, we need laser weapons. Not to boast about them, but to scale them. Laser systems offer instant reaction and strike. They’re an ideal tool for shooting down drones directly over cities. And it’s in cities where such emitters can be connected to powerful energy sources.

Anti-aircraft drones, as I’ve written before, are turning into a modern—but-niche solution.

Earlier, it became known that Russian Shahed drones began to perform complex maneuvers in flight to avoid being hit by Ukrainian interceptor drones .

Recall that the Russian troops may soon begin using updated “Shaheds”, which are capable of real-time control. Instead of a preset flight path, there is manual control and coordination between several aircraft in the air.

By the way, a large-scale project “Clean Sky” is being implemented in Kyiv, aimed at protecting the city’s airspace from Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles using Ukrainian interceptor drones.

Meanwhile, the Russian Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan has begun mass production of Geran-2 kamikaze drones, which are similar to the Iranian Shahed-136, which are regularly used in strikes on Ukraine. Even underage girls from the Alabuga Polytechnic school, some as young as 16, are being involved in assembling these drones.

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