Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Friday, April 17, that a private air defense unit had for the first time shot down a high-speed “jet-powered” Shahed-type drone.
The interception took place in the Kharkiv region, where privately operated air defense groups are being deployed to help protect critical infrastructure.
According to Fedorov’s Telegram update, the drone was traveling at speeds exceeding 400 kilometers per hour (around 249 miles per hour), making it significantly more difficult to intercept than standard Shahed drones.
“This is a new level of complexity,” Fedorov said, adding that Russia is scaling up the use of faster and more advanced drones.
Private air defense expansion
Ukraine has been developing a system of so-called “private air defense” units to supplement its military capabilities.
These groups, currently being formed at 19 enterprises, are integrated into the Air Force’s command system and operate as part of Ukraine’s broader air defense network. The selected staff receive military training, while air defense systems and ammunition are temporarily transferred to enterprises on a case-by-case basis.
The initiative, which started in early March, aims to rapidly expand defensive capabilities without placing additional strain on frontline military units. In late March, the first company participating in the project managed to shoot down Shahed and Zala drones in the Kharkiv region.
Fedorov said the next phase of the project will focus on scaling up operations to increase interception rates and improve response times.
On March 25, Fedorov said that Ukraine’s tech cluster Brave1 – a one‑stop hub for defense innovation in the country – has launched a new €10 million ($12 million) competition alongside NATO to develop technology to counter drones and improve navigation under electronic-warfare conditions.
The program, called UNITE – Brave NATO, is carried out in collaboration with the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA). It focuses on urgent battlefield needs, as drone attacks and signal jamming continue to play a major role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.