Flying at heights of several kilometers and close to the speed of a commercial aircraft, Moscow’s new long-range jet-powered drones are causing havoc among Kyiv’s overt-stretched air defenses.
In recent weeks Moscow has been launching waves of the attack drones at the Ukrainian capital, paralyzing the city with near constant air alerts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday slammed the “horror that’s been happening in the sky these past few days” in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s new , and vowed a response.
The new drones pose a challenge to Ukraine’s previously effective and low-cost anti-drone defense shield, that was hastily developed following Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Ukraine has quickly become a world leader in drone defense and has struck deals with several Western and Middle Eastern countries to share its technology.
However, its network of drone interceptors – which had been shooting down the vast majority of Russia’s more conventional drones, powered by internal combustion engines and propellers – faces a more challenging task against the new jet-powered devices.
Experts say they are fitted with Chinese-made aircraft-style mini jet engines and can fly five kilometers in the air at speeds of 400-600 kilometers (250-370 miles) per hour – up to three times the speed of previous versions based on Iran’s Shahed drones.
The latest model is larger, six meters (20 feet) long with a 5.5 meter (18 feet) wingspan , and a warhead containing up to 90 kilograms (200 pounds) of explosives, nearly double the payload of earlier versions.
Such an altitude and speed puts them out of range for Ukraine’s current fleet of interceptors and “wipes out the progress we had made in the fight,” Ukrainian military expert Sergii Zgurets told AFP.
In terms of air defense, analysts say the new drones more closely resemble cruise missiles than conventional drones.
Russia is estimated to have launched around 2,800 of the jet-powered drones in August, up from 1,500 in July and just a few hundred in June.
A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said around 60% are destroyed, compared with more than 90% of slower, lower-flying drones.
Kyiv brought to a standstill
The new attacks come with Kyiv already under strain following a sharp increase in Russian ballistic missile strikes, which have killed dozens since the start of the summer.
On Friday, a jet-powered drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s security services in the historic center of Kyiv, a highly symbolic hit carried out in broad daylight.
Ukraine accused Russia of using the strike to disrupt the weekend visit of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv as they sought to revive stalled peace talks.
The wave of attacks has, at times, brought Kyiv to a near-standstill, with up to a dozen air alerts ringing out every day.
During alerts, many businesses and institutions close and the metro service is restricted, causing road gridlock and forcing people onto the streets.
Many schools, which returned from summer break last week, have announced a switch to remote learning.
The disruption to social and economic life has become so severe that authorities announced a rare relaxation of security protocols to allow the city of around three million people to keep functioning.
Ukraine races to develop a response
Kyiv officials have faced criticism for failing to anticipate the threat.
Analysts say Russia began producing jet-powered drones 18 months ago and can now manufacture around 3,000 a month.
Moscow “has a window of opportunity with these jet drones,” Ukrainian blogger Nikolaevsky Vaniok, who is close to the country’s air defense community and followed by more than 2.6 million people on Telegram, told AFP.
In response to the increased threat, Zelensky convened his military cabinet last week to accelerate production of faster interceptor drones.
Prototypes already exist and work is underway “to bring this new weapon up to the required level of efficiency,” he said.
One major Ukrainian arms company producing interceptors for conventional drones said it was “actively working on a solution.”
Zgurets, head of the Defense Express analysis center, argued that Ukraine needs a broader response combining aviation, surface-to-air systems, electronic warfare and more strikes against launch and production sites inside Russia.
“The Russians have gained an edge in this technological cycle,” he said, warning it could take “up to six months” for Ukraine to develop effective countermeasures.