Russia's New Jet Drones Hit 800 kph as Ukraine Scrambles to Stop Them
Russia is deploying jet-powered attack drones over Ukraine that fly several times faster than earlier models, forcing Kyiv's air defenses to adapt as winter approaches. Ukraine is fighting back with an improvised hybrid air-defense system and new tactics.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia has begun launching jet-powered attack drones over Ukraine that fly several times faster than the propeller-driven Shahed models used in earlier waves of strikes, according to Ukrainian officials. The new drones, a variant of the Geran, reach speeds of up to 800 kilometers per hour, making them far harder for Ukraine's air defenses to track and shoot down [260379].
The jet-powered weapons are already the main challenge for Ukraine's air defense, and the country is racing to find ways to counter them [260379]. Hours into Kyiv's nightly curfew, small air-defense crews stationed on the roofs of tower blocks scan the horizon with heavy machine guns, checking speed and altitude on monitors before deciding how to respond to incoming drones [260544].
Russia is also equipping its Geran drones with a new navigation system that uses stored images of terrain to find targets, a defense adviser said. The method, known as image-based navigation, allows the drones to match what their cameras see on the ground with pictures saved before the flight. This reduces their dependence on satellite navigation signals, which Ukrainian electronic warfare systems can jam, making the drones harder to disrupt [260385].
Ukraine has responded by combining a Soviet-era Kub launcher with American RIM-7 interceptors, creating a hybrid air-defense system to counter the jet-powered drones. The improvised system has already shot down about 20 air targets, according to the source material [257033].
Ukraine's intelligence service also found a United States-made navigation sensor inside a new Russian jet-powered drone. The part, identified as a PNI5GA sensor, helps a drone fly more steadily and find its way on its own [257049].
The drone campaign comes as European intelligence agencies warn that Russia is expanding covert operations against defense industry leaders, aiming to intimidate companies that supply weapons to Ukraine and weaken Western support for Kyiv. Once considered taboo, assassination plots against European defense executives are now escalating, and spy agencies across Europe are sharing intelligence on the threat [260386].
In 2024, Russian hackers seized residential webcams in Kyiv, Ukraine's Security Service said. The cameras were used to spy on the movement of Western weapons bound for Ukraine's front lines [260368].
Russia has also attacked a data center in Ukraine and captured four more settlements, part of its ongoing military campaign. A data center is a facility that stores and processes computer information [259856].